Halo: an elite story
by firerwolf
Summary: When a patrol ship with a crew of humans and sangheili find the remains of a ship their boring lives changed when they find a lost hero and their ship under attack. They now must fight a new enemy on a new world.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So here the first chapter I hope you like it

A/N: So here the first chapter I hope you like it. I don't own John-117, or Cortana or anything halo but the elites and the marines are my own characters.

Chapter 1

"Move your sorry asses." Staff Sergeant Amanda called back to her two soldiers. She turned to look at the five sangheili ahead of her. She frowned as she noticed their perfect formation. The lead elite in the center with two of her troops to each side watchign all sides. The lead elite, Ahce 'Sirut, was a strong leader who demanded only the best from those under her command. Ahce was a seasoned warrior and had earned her red armor long before Amanda had met her.

To Ahce's left was Omis 'Uyral. A strong sangheili to say the least. Omis was the one you called when you had something heave to move. Not that she was being used in any way. The sangheili took ever task as a challenge and loved to do a good days work.

Behind Omis was Saco 'Tikul. Amanda was sure that if not for the elite's female gender she would have been part of the stealth unit. Many times before the Sargent had been scared half to death by Saco sneaking up on her.

To Ahce's right was Kada 'Mihad. A great strategist, and a little bit nuts. Kada seemed to make it her life mission to find out all she could and complete the oddest of tasks. She had an odd way of doing everything. Amanda found it amusing how someone who knew so much often didn't understand current references to human culture or old phrases.

Behind Kada was the only male of the sangheili troops. Xece 'Sawat was a fine specimen of a soldier. He was often quiet but deadly in hand to hand combat. He was a good shot and a prime choice for sniping.

This only made Amanda all the more ashamed of her own troops. The two men who had been put under her command were far from ideal soldiers. They both had bad aim and were pacifists, or cowards as she liked to call them. They weren't even really soldiers.

Amanda pushed off from her spot and floated over to Ahce. The Sargent had never been a big fan of free fall but she had gotten plenty of practice. After an incident where Amanda was borderline insubordinate she had been assigned to Hand in hand. The only thing the ship did was patrol the edge of known space. They had picked up a odd distress signal from an unknown source. When they entered the system they found the debris of what seemed to be an UNSC ship.

Now they were making their way to the source of the signal. Amanda had decided to let the sangheili take the lead and instructed her men to watch closely and make learn from the way the elites moved fluently through the zero gravity environment. The group made it's way down the hall to a large door that lead to the cryobay. Ahce motioned and Kada moved forward to the doors controls. The other elites prepared their energy pistols and Ahce nodded to Kada. Kada pressed a few buttons and the door slid open. With surprising speed and control the four elites moved into the cryobay and scanned the room. "All clear." Ahce announced over her COM.

Amanda nodded and then drifted over toward a holopad near the cryopods. She held up a small hand held and it indicated that the holopad was the source of the signal. After looking it over the Sargent pressed a series of buttons and it activated. The shinning purple figure of a woman appeared and she looked at Amanda for a moment. "I am guessing you received my distress signal." The AI said putting her hands on her hips.

"That we did." Ahce said as she floated over beside Amanda. "Are there any others alive?" She asked looking around at the empty ship.

"Yes, spartan-117 is in one of the cryotubes." The AI replied. "I can start the reanimation sequence if you like." She added.

"Spartan-117." Ahce said as if trying to remember where she had heard it. After a moment she recognized the name. "As in the Master Chief? Then you are Cortana." She said looking the AI over.

"That is correct. I'm not sure if we've met before." She said looking the elite over. "Would you like me to start the reanimation program?" She asked.

Ahce paused. "No, we will move the pod to our ship where we can be sure that the systems won't fail." The elite said. Ahce motioned to her team and they began to unhook the cryotube. Amanda felt a bit annoyed by the way that Ahce had taken over control despite the fact that Cortana was UNSC property and that the Master Chief was a human soldier. "You many not know who I am but there is not a soldier alive who does not know of the Master Chief. That and I fought along side you on the ark." She added proudly.

Cortana seemed to think for a moment as if checking her memory. "I don't have any record of a sangheili of your rank or name." She said simply with a slight shrug. "Sorry." She added sounding truly apologetic.

Ahce snorted and shook her head. "It is not your fault. I was not of my current rank when that battle was fought. Beside, the female soldiers are never worth mentioning." She said dryly. The fact that the female elites had to fight even harder to prove them selves was one of the only parallels that Amanda could find with the alien troops. In fact it was the foundation for her relationship with the commanding elite. With a mostly female crew who had to deal with the same crap she did they had learned to get along. Having two useless human males had only served to entertain them with stupid comments and actions. The Sargent had learned early on though not to mess with the only male elite. He was well able to defend himself but the commander would not have her troops insulted. Amanda had apologized to the elite and the incident passed to be forgotten. She was glad for Xece's forgiving nature or it would have been a rather tense couple of days before she would have been forgiven and no longer have to watch her back.

"Men." Cortana said shaking her head. "They don't like to listen to women. They think they run the show but they would die without women to show them the way." She said with a smirk. Amanda smirked and heard a slight laugh from Ahce. "If it weren't for me I'm sure the Chief would have been lost long ago." She said shaking her head.

Ahce looked to the two floating male marines and then to the single male sangheili. "I like to keep my men in line. Let them know who is really in charge." She said looking to Amanda.

The Sargent shook her head. "I like to let them think they are not under my control. It makes it all the more fun to have complete control." She said with a smirk.

"Cryopod is ready for transfer." Kada reported. As the elites flanked the now detached pod.

"Very well." Ahce said turning to Cortana. "Can you be transported?" She asked.

"Yes, just a moment." The AI replied before disappearing. A light on the holopad winked on and Ahce retrieved the data chip from the slot. With a swift motion she and her team headed back to the ship. Amanda trailed as she watched her men try to catch up with the rest. She sighed and shook her head.

End chapter 1

A/N: So there is chapter one. If you can't tell I'm a girl and I love elites. Please review, I would love to hear what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own John or Cortana or any of the halo stuff, but I do own all of my original characters

A/N: I don't own John or Cortana or any of the halo stuff, but I do own all of my original characters. I hope you enjoy it and I'm going to post the third and fourth chapter today as well, that way we can get to some really action.

Chapter 2

Ahce 'Sirut stood in the med-bay of the Hand in hand. She glanced over at the engineers who were working on the control pads. The cryopod had been connected up to the controls and the reanimation proses had been started. The Sangheili turned to a near by holopad where Cortana stood overseeing the operation. "How much longer will it take?" She asked the AI.

"Only a few more second ma'am." Cortana replied turning to the elite. "Might I ask who exactly is in charge of this ship?" She asked having not found a shipmaster on board or even anyone above the rank of major or staff Sargent.

Ahce thought about this for a moment. "There isn't exactly anyone in charge. Each species has one person in charge of them and we are in a sort of partnership. It is some idea that the higher ups came up with to form a better bond between us all." She replied. "I lead my Sangheili, the Sargent leads the humans. We even have some Unggoy and Kig-Yar on board." She said.

"What no Mgalekgolo?" Cortana asked jokingly. "You lead the sangheili yet you ware the same armor as them." She pointed out.

"Yes this is true. It seems I am not worth of the promotion but that I have the respect of my soldiers enough to lead them." She said clicking her lower mandibles together in the elite's version of a shrug. "It matters not to me." She said despite the fact that it was a lie. She had expected to be risen in the ranks when she was stationed on the Hand in hand but was disappointed to find she wasn't.

The attention of the elite and AI were pulled to the cryopod as his hissed open. "Oh well I guess the reanimation is done." Cortana said as if she had chosen not to tell the elite but knew all along. Ahce ignored the comment as she watched the pod's door open. Out climbed the Master Chief in his full MIOLNIR armor. Ahce stood at attention as she heard the heard the boots of the Staff Sergeant click together behind her. "Happy to have you awake again." Cortana said smiling at the Spartan.

"It's good to be awake." John said turning to the sangheili and staff Sergeant. He saluted in the general direction of them both. "Spartan-117 reporting for duty." He said standing tall before them.

Ahce paused for a moment not sure how to react. The Master Chief was of a higher rank then her yet he had just saluted them. She gave him a salute back and stood up tall as well. "I am major Ahce 'Sirut. Welcome aboard the Hand in hand." She said turning as Staff Sergeant Amanda walked up beside her.

"I am Staff Sergeant Amanda. Is there anything you need before I show you to the human barracks?" She asked still a bit amazed to be standing before the Spartan.

The Spartan seemed unsure of who he was exactly suppose to speak to but turned to Amanda. "Well I could use some food. I can't remember the last time I ate." He said relaxing a bit.

"Well then come right this way." Amanda said as she turned and started out of the room. She turned right down the hall and glanced behind her to see if they were following. She noticed that Ahce had turned left down the hall and she stopped. "Where are you going?" She asked wondering why the elite wasn't going to join them.

Ahce turned to them and let out what seemed to be a sigh. "Someone has to report these events." She said simply before turning and walking down the hall.

Amanda shrugged and turned and continued down the hall. "Suit yourself." She said to herself as she led the Master Chief to the mess hall. Then walked in to a disgracefulness scene. Ben and Max, the human soldiers, were cowering in the corner while the four elites were laughing, even Xece.

"What in the name of all that's good is going on here?" She shouted at them clearly angry. The last thing she had wanted the Chief to see was her soldier's being incompetent.

Max and Ben ran up to Amanda and pointed at the elites. "It was all their fault." They said in unison. The elites stood up in what Amanda believed to be outrage.

"How dare you." Saco 'Tikul growled at the two marines. "If you weren't such cowards then there wouldn't have been any problem." The elite said taking one step toward them.

"You're the one that snuck up on me and Max." Ben said glaring at the elite.

"I did not. You are just not skilled enough to control yourself or tell that I was there." The stealthy elite shot back at the scared soldiers. "I'm not the one that started to scream like a young child."

"I did not scream like a little kid." Max said trying to defend himself. "You didn't need to insult me."

"I didn't need to but how could I pass up the chance." The elite said letting out a slight laugh.

"Shut it split lip." Ben shot back at the elite. "I don't see why we need your kind anyway."

Xece 'Sawat took two steps toward them and growled. "How dare you speak in such a way to a superior officer you weakling."

"I don't consider you as a superior officer." Max said taking a step toward the elite. He knew hit wasn't a good idea but he only realized it once he had taken the steps. Xece drew his hand back as if to strike the marine but was stopped.

There, gripping Xece's arm was Ahce. At the sight of the commanding elite the sangheili troops moved into line and stood at attention. Ahce growled at them and walked to stand before them. She looked at them for a moment before speaking. "I want to know what happened here." She demanded.

The sangheili looked at each other before Saco stepped forward. "Ma'am,. I walked up to the table and I passed Privet Max. When I spoke he screamed and I poked fun at how childish his scream was. He then said something insulting to me so I took his apple. He demanded he get his apple back so I threw it at him. He failed to catch it and it hit him. He and Privet Ben then ran to the corner saying that I attacked them." She said seriously. "We then started to laugh at their stupidity." She added.

Ahce looked at Saco before taking a step toward her. "You will be in charge of handing out ammunition and weapons during practice later." She said. That meant that the elite would not be participating.

"Yes ma'am." Saco said her displeasure evident in her voice. She then moved back into line and Ahce turned to the marines and Master Chief.

"I've alerted command of our discovery." She told the chief. "I'm guessing that this commotion has kept you from getting that food." She said motioning to a near by table. She sat down and was followed shortly by Amanda and the Chief.

"Do they fight often?" Master Chief asked looking at Ahce.

"No, but my men make fools of them selves on what seems to be a regular basis." Amanda said with a sigh. "Damn UNSC giving me the worst of their soldiers." She said as an Unggoy brought them food.

"Well we aren't exactly high priority." Ahce said turning to the Spartan. "All we do is go around space looking for nothing. It is rather boring to sometimes my troops do make fun of the other troops. Finding you is the high point of the last one and a half year." She said unhappily.

"Well I've had more then enough excitement in my life." The Chief said sighing. The three officers ate a quick meal and then started off toward the human barracks. They had almost made it to the barracks when the ship was shaken. They looked around trying to find the source of the shaking.

The four elite troops ran down the hall and Kada stopped. "Ma'am, it seems we are under attack." She said sounding very surprised. The three lead soldiers turned and ran down the hall toward the bridge. The last thing they had expected was happening. They were under attack.

Chapter 2 end

A/N: So here is a bit of excitement. I hope you will review and I don't care if you even want to insult me. I'm looking to make this a really good series so I want all the ideas and criticism if you have them.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Once more I don't own John, Cortana, or any of the halo stuff

A/N: Once more I don't own John, Cortana, or any of the halo stuff. This chapter is mainly just to set everything up for the main line of the story. Have fun reading.

Chapter 3

Ahce 'Sirut ran onto the bridge and took a seat in the captain's chair. "Status." She ordered as she looked to the screen in front of her. The other elites took up places at controls and started to work. "Something has attacked us. I want to know where it is." She growled at she turned to her team.

The humans stood back as the sangheili soldiers worked. "Ma'am an unidentified ship is on our port. It matches a Sangheili cruiser but it isn't responding to our hails." Kada 'Mihad announced from her station.

"What weapons do we have?" She said turning to the others.

"None ma'am. This ship wasn't meant for combat." Omis 'Uyral replied from her station. "We have shields but they won't be able to stand against another attack. Their last attack breached our lower decks and hit the Unggoy and Kig-Yar barracks." She reported.

Ahce growled in frustration. She knew that the news meant that most of her Jackal and Grunt were dead. "Do we still have power to our engines?" She asked turning to Saco 'Tikul.

"Only thirty percent ma'am." Saco replied clicking her mandibles together in agitation.

Ahce sat back for a moment to think over her options. She couldn't outrun the attacking ship that was for sure. She turned her attention to the view screen where she noticed the planet the wreckage of the Dawn was orbiting around. "Saco make course for the unknown planet." She said after a moment.

"Are you sure about that?" Amanda asked walking up beside her. "I mean we don't know what is on that planet."

"Yes well we don't know what's on that ship and it is currently trying to kill us. If we stay here then we die but if we go to the planet we stand a chance of surviving. We are here because the planet can sustain life. If it couldn't we wouldn't be in his system at all." She said not even looking at the marine.

"She's right. We may not know what is on that planet but we know that what is out here can kill us." master Chief said moving to stand beside the Sergeant.

"I can take care of the landing. You all just prepare for whatever might be on that planet." Cortana said as she appeared on the holopad next to the captain's chair. "For now it seems like they are trying to catch us alive. They haven't fired again but keep sending a message in a language I don't know. You have about half an hour to get ready then you need to be ready to hit that planet and hard." The AI explained turning her full attention to the movement of the ship.

Ahce nodded to the AI before turning to her team. "Omis, Xece, Kada. You are to get together all the weapons you can. I want us to have a full selection." The three sangheili bowed before leaving to their task. She then turned to Saco. "I want you to be sure that everyone gets ready for the hard landing. That means being sure that the Unggoy and Kig-Yar are ready." She said. Saco bowed before racing off to her task. She then turned to the humans. "Well my troops have their orders. What are your troops going to do?" She asked the Staff Sergeant.

Amanda thought for a moment. "Hide in a corner out of the way and kiss their asses goodbye." She said with a frown. The two would most likely only get in the way of the other soldiers. "I'm going to go down into storage and get the MJOLNIR armor." She said walking away.

The Master Chief looked to Ahce. "They have MJOLNIR armor?" He asked not at all comfortable with soldiers of their skill to wear armor that was identified by his fellow Spartans.

Ahce waved the comment off. "There have been many variations of your armor made for lesser troops. Not everyone can be a great as a Spartan but now we can at least make our enemies think they all are as great as the Spartans." She said turning toward the growing image of the planet. "They have done the same for my own kind. My team will suit up in the new armor. The armor I wear now is not for combat. It is obsolete." She said walking toward the exit of the bridge. "If you wish you men can take one of the human's armors." she said looking to her side as she Chief followed. She noted the shake of his head and gave a slight sangheili shrug. "No matter. The two weaklings will wear the mark V armor. They couldn't handle anything more then that."

"What about the Sergeant?" The Master Chief asked. Beside the mark V and VI what else could she wear?

Ahce let out a laugh. "That would be the good old ODTS armor." The elite said sounding pleased at the idea. "There are better armors out there and she chooses that. She is a marine through and through." Ahce stopped as the reached a door. "It will be good to have a soldier like her despite her awful troops." She said not caring in the humans took offense at the elite's words. The elite pressed a button and the doors before them slid open. They opened up into the cargo bay where the three elites were at work and Amanda was unloading the armor.

Ahce and John walked over to Amanda and looked at the two sets of mark V armor set out for her troops and the ODTS armor set out for her. She turned to them and nodded. "Any armor you want to take dibs on?"

Ahce nodded. "I will take the combat armor. Xece will get the assault armor. I will give Saco the flight, Kada will get the ascetic, and Omis gets the commando." The elite said grabbing the helmet of the combat armor. She placed it on her head and turned to Amanda. "As soon as you have them out suit up and help your men suit up." She said before turning to walk over to Kada. The elites were standing before a few piles of weapons.

"Ma'am we have at least five of each weapon." The elite replied as she made a note of the five sniper rifles that were placed before her.

Ahce nodded. "Have ever Unoggy and Kig-Yar a plasma pistol. I know we have several cases of those. Each elite should carry a carbine and a back up energy sword." She noted Kada looked up at her surprised. "Yes I know how important they are but we don't know what we are facing and we may need them. Pack a few plasma rifles as well, we man need them. Make sure you have a beam rifle as well." She said picking up two assault rifles. "Your men can take these and a magnum each. I don't if they will fire any shots but if they do I'd rather not chance their aim with something that could easily kill us." She said turning to see the two marines enter. She tossed the guns to them and they barely caught them.

Amanda huffed as she stored a magnum and then picked up a shot gun. The Master Chief picked up an assault rife and a SMG. The elites suited up and after some help the marines did as well. The troops then made their way to the bridge where they saw that the ship was entering the atmosphere. The elites took up stations while the others hung on as the ship started to make it decent toward the planet.

End Chapter 3

A/N: So yeah I know not the most exciting of all chapters but I needed to set that up. So review if you like. I'll see you next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Shipmaster Stpe 'Aewas turned to filed commander Ckje 'Ssaor

A/N: I don't own John-117, Cortana, or halo stuff but I do own my original crew and the new crew. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 4

Shipmaster Stpe 'Aewas turned to filed commander Ckje 'Ssaor. "It seems they are going to land on the unknown planet." He reported. After receiving the report about the Spartan three battle cruisers had been sent to the system. They arrived to find the Hand in hand under attack from an unidentified ship.

Ckje 'Ssaor growled. "I knew we should have had more competent crews out here." He said watching the damaged ship crash land on the unknown planet. "Get us to that planet and my troops will get the cargo and crew." He said turning to the shipmaster.

Stpee 'Aewas nodded then turned to his crew. "Set course for the unknown planet. Send a signal to their captain to let them know that friendlies are on the way." He ordered as the ship turned to head toward the planet.

Aboard the Hand in hand

Ahce shook her head to clear it. "Status report." She ordered as she looked around the bridge. Some systems were coming back online while others remained dark. Ahce had been thrown out of here chair by the crash and now stood beside the holopad were Cortana smiled slightly embarrassed.

"That was a bit harder of a landing then I thought." She admitted. A comment could be heard from the Master Chief but the AI ignored it. "We are receiving a message from a friendly." She announced.

Ahce moved to the captain's chair. "Show it to me." She said and the message appeared on the screen. She read it over then turned to the humans. "Troops are coming to get us. The problem is we need better cover. There were caves just north of where we've landed. We'll head there and wait." She said. After receiving a nod from Amanda and John she motioned for them to leave. John grabbed Cortana and then took up the rear guard as they left the ship. "How many Kig-Yar and Unggoy are left?" She asked Saco.

"Not many ma'am. We have only about 5 Unggoy left and 3 Kig-Yar." The elite replied looking toward the elite.

"Leave them here. They should have plenty of cover in the cargo bay and they can keep a watch on the huragok." Ahce said as she moved out into the canyon.

The foliage was odd as if it were descendent from earth plants, or the other way around. There were tall tree like plants with smooth dark blue bark. Its leaves were shaped like stars and an odd brown color. They were spaced all around the canyon casting most of the ground in shadow. The floor of the canyon was barren without a trace of life. The walls of the canyon were smooth and a light white color. "Hell, it's like the grand canyon on acid." Max said looking up at to the sky.

"How does it look like a canyon that is being dissolved by acid?" Kada asked looking back at the marine.

Max looked at her for a moment. "What the hell are you talking about? How can you not know what acid is?" He nearly shouted.

"I know what it is. It is a solution that is acidic and it dissolves most materials." Kada replied looking at Max like he was stupid.

"No, I mean acid the drug. You know LSD." The marine said as if it were obvious.

Kada looked at him not understanding the connection between acidic solutions and a hallucinogenic drug. "You humans are so weird." She muttered as she stared to walk off down the canyon.

Saco was scouting ahead. The dark navy blue flight armor allowed her to move quickly and almost completely blend in with the shadow. The group was headed up by Omis 'Uyral in her dark red commando armor with Kada 'Mihad in her golden ascetic armor. They were followed by Max in his purple mark V armor and Ben in his lime green mark V armor. Amanda was right behind them in her dark brown ODTS armor. Ahce in her silver combat armor and Xece in his white assault armor followed behind them with Master Chieft covering the rear.

The ship had landed in a large canyon that stretched for miles. The team made their way along the canyon keeping to the shadows. They had no way of knowing what lived on the planet or if their foes were going to chase them to the planet's surface. They didn't have many problems as they made their way along. They stopped a few times due to odd sounds and Ben got his leg attacked by an odd plant. They made it to the caves and decided to take cover in a small cave. The dark cave was lit slightly by crystals that let off a faint teal glow. They were scattered along the walls and ceiling of the cave.

The soldiers turned on their head lights so they could fully see the area. The cave was a different color then the walls of the canyon. They were a light grey with blotches of brown in random locations. "Saco, you're on watch." Ahce said as she sat on a large rock.

"Max, you join her." Amanda ordered. The marine looked like he was going to argue but thought better of it. He ran off after the stealth elite. Amanda then sat down beside Ahce. "The only thing we can do now is wait." She said with a sigh. "Anyone know any good games?" She asked.

It was an hour later and the soldiers were playing a game of 20 questions. "What else could it be? I mean a pineapple is the only option." Cortana said through the Master Chief's helmet.

"Well it isn't. It's a karonf." Ahce said leaning forward in satisfaction.

"What in the name of all that's not trying to kill us is a karonf?" Amanda asked.

"It's a purple fruit that has a red liquid inside." The commanding sangheili replied.

Amanda was bout to argue when Max cam running up to them. "Big lizard." He said obviously scared.

Saco came up behind him. "There is a very large lizard creature that seems to be making its way into the cave toward us." She said. "I suggest we go in deeper. That thing had thick skin and looked dangerous."

Ahce nodded. "Deeper it is." She said. The 9 soldiers started down deeper into the cave. The continued on hoping to find a back exit to the cave. All they managed to find was rocks, dirt, and a dead end. They stood at the dead end. Kada and Saco looked over the walls for any tunnels or possible ways to move forward.

"Well this is just great." Max said stamping his foot down. Everyone fell silent as the round beneath his feet started to crack. "Holy sh-" He didn't finish before the ground below them broke apart and fell out from under them. They tried to jump to solid ground but all 9 soldiers fell down into the darkness below.

End chapter 4

A/N: Yes I know really weird crazy planet. Just review.


	5. Chapter 5

Xece 'Sawat slowly came back to consciousness

A/N: I don't own John-117, Cortana, or the halo stuff. I really do like the end of this chapter. Have fun reading.

Chapter 5

Xece 'Sawat slowly came back to consciousness. He looked around but it was to dark. He checked his armor's systems and then all checked out. He then turned on his helmet's flashlight. He looked around to find they had landed in an underground cavern. The only sound he could hear was the dripping of water from stalactites high above them. He looked quickly to his left when he heard scrapping. His light fell on the figure of Omis 'Uyral. She looked toward him and after a second turned on her own light. He scanned the area around them at the glistening wet walls of the cavern they had fallen into. The rock was layered in shades of purple and orange. He stopped when his light fell on the still form of Max. The sangheili moved to the human's side and shook him lightly.

Max stirred and then sat up raising his hand to grip his helmet. "Damn, my head hurts." He complained as he looked up at Xece. After a moment he turned on his own helmet light. When he saw Ben he immediately ran to the side of the fallen marine.

Xece left the humans to care for each other more concerned with the health of his fellow sangheili. He looked over to see Omis already tending to Kada 'Mihad. The male elite then moved when he noticed Saco 'Tikul not to far away from him. Once she was awake and he was sure she had no major injuries he looked around for the only remaining elite. "Has anyone found Ahce?" he asked over the com.

"Negative." Omis replied as she and Kada joined the other elites. Ben, Max, and John joined them unable to find Amanda.

Static came over the com channel for a moment before someone spoke. "This is Staff...Ahce injured." Amanda's voice said before cutting off.

"I can tack it." Cortana announced seeing the four elites shift unhappily. The four visibly relaxed at the news and turned to John to wait for direction.

"Can you guys not function without a leader?" Max asked looking at the elites.

"No you fool. Our fellow soldiers are our family. Ahce is injured and we must help her. She is with a human and you know nothing of healing out kind." Kada replied offended by the marine's assumption. "If you found out that your Sergeant had been injured would you not be worried?" She asked.

Max seemed to think for a moment before replying. "Not really. I mean she is stronger then ether of us so she even injured she would probably be better off without us. Not to mention she spends most of her time insulting us and calling us names." He pointed out.

"Well maybe she would not insult you so much if you had any kind of skill." Saco snapped at the soldier. "Seriously, it's supposed to be a training technique." She said glaring at Max.

"If you are finished I know what way the signal came from." Cortana interrupted. The three turned toward the Spartan and shut their mouth. "Just follow the Chief." She said and John turned to start walking down the tunnel in the direction that Cortana gave him.

They made their way down an incline to the darting headlight on Staff Sergeant Amanda's helmet. "Ma'am, are you alright?" Max asked as he ran to the Sergeant's side.

"I'm alright soldier." Amanda said waving off the marine's concern. "The problem is I can't get Ahce to wake up." She said looking down at the slumped over sangheili.

Kada went to the command elite and got to work. A minuet later she returned to the others. "Ahce will be fine. I guess she hit her head rather hard and she has a cut on her right side. It'll heal on its own." she said looking at the others. "Until she wakes up who is in command?"

"Don't you have a chain of command?" John asked looking at each of the sangheili soldiers.

"Why would we?" Saco said looking a the Spartan. "We are all the same rank and this is the first time we've been in a combat situation since we started patrolling."

"Well then why do you all listen to Ahce?" John asked trying to understand how they had a leader when they were all the same rank.

The sangheili paused in though. "I guess it is because she is the most experienced." Omis spoke up. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well then who of you is the second most experienced?" John asked.

"That's a good question. I've only bee in the forces for 5 years." Omis said looking at the others.

"Well I've been in the forces for 6 years." Saco said looking to Kada. "How about you?"

"6 for me." The odd sangheili replied. "Please tell me you've served more Xece." She said not wanting to be tied for leadership.

The male elite was counting up the years of service in his head. "How long ago was the battle of the Ark?" He asked.

"15 years ago." Saco replied. "Wait you've been in the service for 15 years?" She asked.

"No, only 11 years." The elite said pausing for a moment. "I think." He muttered a moment later.

"How can you not know?" Max asked. "I mean don't you know what year you signed up? All you have to do is subtract that year from this year."

"Look at you talking math. It would take you an hour to do that equation." Ben said with a slight laugh.

"This is why I don't like working with humans." Kada muttered. "Ow." She cried turning to see she had had been smacked in the back of the head by Ache.

"Quite, all of you." She growled and the troops shut up. "Here we are in unknown territory and you're shouting." She looked around the cavern at all that she could see and then turned to Xece. "You've been in the service for 12 years by the way." She said flatly before turning her attention back to the cavern. She continued to look around and then turned back to the soldiers. "There seem to be two ways out of this place. I suggest we split up and scout each one." She said looking to Amanda and John to see if they would agree.

"Sounds good to me." Amanda said not really knowing all that much about strategy. Sure she was competent in directing troops on the ground but not without having an objective. "But we don't have an even number." She pointed out glancing at the other soldiers.

"We can split up in one team of 4 and one of 5." John said. "We'll split up by species." He added knowing that without Ahce in command of the sangheili they would not be as willing to work with humans.

"Agreed." Ahce said turning to her troops. "Weapon check." The 4 elites took out their weapons and made sure there were no problems and they were fully loaded. They also checked over their energy swords and then readied their carbines.

Amanda sighed. "Sure give her the easy job." She muttered before looking at her own troops. She sighed once more before turning to the Master Chief. "Well lead the way." She said.

"We'll take the one on the right and you can take the one on the left." Ahce said as she grabbed her carbine. "Move out." She ordered before taking off to the right tunnel.

Amanda and John took off for the left tunnel with Max and Ben a bit behind them. "Move it cupcakes." Amanda shouted at the 2.

"We're...huff...coming...huff." Max called to the Sergeant.

Amanda sighed once again and turned to John. "We'll be lucky if we all live." She said sadly. John nodded in agreement.

After 15 minuets of traveling down the tunnel John stopped. He made a sharp gesture and took cover. Amanda moved behind a large rock. She looked and saw Max and Ben standing in the middle of the tunnel. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"We don't know what that means." Ben said confused.

"It means find cover and stay alert." Amanda said. The two soldiers moved over to hide behind the same rock as their CO.

"Now what?" Max asked.

"Quiet." Amanda snapped turning to the two soldiers. She stared at Max.

"What?" He asked a bit nervous.

"Where in the name of the UNSC did you get a sniper rifle?" She asked.

Max looked down at the sniper rifle i his hands. "Well I've always wanted to use a sniper rifle so I grabbed one." He said sounding rather pleased with himself.

Amanda was about to reply but John spoke over the com. "I have visual." What he had visual of was a large lizard creature. It looked similar to an giant yellow iguana with think armor along its body. John checked his assault rifle and looked toward Amanda. "On my mark we attack." He told her and she nodded. "Mark." John said and he and Amanda jumped out and took aim. They started to fire but the bullets bounced off of the creature's body armor harmlessly.

Behind the rock

"Why do you need a sniper rifle? You don't know how to use one." Ben said eying Maxes gun.

"I so can to use it." Max retorted. "Watch." He then stepped out and raised the sniper rifle at the creature.

"Max get to cover." Amanda shouted when she spotted him. A moment later the sniper rifle fired. The bullet ripped through a small section of unprotected hide on the creatures head. It tore through the creature's skull and excited out again followed by fragments of bone and brain. The creature's lifeless body thudded to the ground dully. The three other soldiers turned to stare at Max amazed that he had made the shot. The soldier in question was standing very still staring at the dead creature looking stunned. Amanda walked up to the motionless marine and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright soldier?" She asked.

Max turned to look at her staring blankly. "That...was...awesome!" he shouted the last word as he broke out into a wide smile. "What else can I shoot?" He asked like a three year only on a sugar high.

"Nothing for now soldier, but the next time we come to an enemy you get in there and kill." Amanda said pleased with the excited marine.

Max then turned to Ben. "Hey guess what. I like killing things." He then turned back to Amanda. "I wish I had started earlier. Killing gives you such a rush." he said happily.

Amanda turned to Ben. "Hey yellow bellied sap sucker. You better come up with some sort of combat skill or I'll let hawk eye here quench his thirst for blood by killing you." She said.

John looked at her. "Is that your idea of motivation?" He asked.

"Hell no." Amanda said. "With Max having skill we have a chance of getting some damn respect from the sangheili." She said obviously pleased.

John stayed quiet for a moment before turning and starting down the tunnel again. "Lets just go." He said.

Max moved with more energy as he started down the tunnel. "Yeah, lets find more things to kill." He said excited.

"A very odd group aren't they?" Cortana said so only John could hear.

John turned off his external speakers before replying. "I agree with you there. I don't know if we were lucky to have been found or not." He said as she followed the very excited privet.

End chapter 5

A/N: So yeah Max isn't completely useless. I hope you enjoyed it. Lease review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't own any of the halo stuff. Now read.

Chapter 6

The group of 5 elites moved down the tunnel staying in formation. They traveled for almost a half hour before they found any thing. The rock walls of the tunnel gave way to a metal hallway. They paused for a few minuets to study the markings on the wall.

Kada 'Mihad returned to commander Ahce 'Sirut. "It seems they are forerunner." She said glancing over her shoulder at the symbols on the walls. "What do we do?" She asked. With the realization of how dangerous forerunner technology was the sangheili were more cautious of it. Not to mention the risk of the planet being flood infected.

Ahce paused in thought. "We shall continue on. Stay on high alert." She ordered. "I hope the radios will work down here." She muttered as she turned on her radio. "This is Major Ahce 'Sirut. There is forerunner technology on this planet. No sign of flood but proceed with caution." She said. Ahce repeated the message once more before switching off her radio. "Alright, lets more out." The sangheili said before continuing.

"It seems like the symbols repeat." Saco 'Tikul said gazing at a series of 3 symbols.

"Well that is very possible. They might even be direction. Telling us where we're going." Omis 'Uyral said shifting her carbine to a more comfortable position." What do you think Xece?"

Xece 'Sawat simply shrugged and stayed quiet. "you make for very stimulating conversation." Kada said glancing at the assault armored elite.

"Stow the chatter." Ahce snapped as she stopped. The other elites halted as well. "There's a different kind of light ahead. Be ready for anything." She warned them.

The 5 sangheili moved forward slowly. They walked out into what seemed to be a lift. Kada moved over to the controls. She looked them over then turned to Ahce. "I can work them."

"Well lets find out if it goes up or down." She said. "Once the lift starts moving move to the center." She instructed.

Once the other 4 elites were in the center Kada activated the lift. She moved to join the others as they started to move down. "Great, down we go." She muttered as she waited for the lift to stop.

With Ckje 'Ssaor

the fleet master stood waiting for the Kig-Yar before him to finish his report. Behind him 7 elites whispered and snickered and the scared Kig-Yar. Once the Kig-yar had finished Ckje spoke. "So basically you found nothing but missing weapons and armor." the elite growled.

The Kig-Yar backed away in terror. "Yes sir." The Kig-Yar said obviously scared out of his mind.

"Leave." Ckje ordered and the Kig-Yar didn't need to be told twice and ran off without another word. Ckje growled. "Great we have very expensive equipment in the hands of unskilled soldiers." He said before turning to the elites. "Alright, we're heading out down the canyon." He said. A sangheili in orange combat armor groaned. "Do we have a problem?" He asked.

"No sir." Erbl 'Irgus said unenthusiastically. He didn't look at all happy with the idea of doing work.

"We don't have any problems at all sir." A maroon armored elite said standing tall.

"Kiss ass." Erbl muttered glaring at the maroon elite, Ckbl 'Misod.

"I agree with Erbl." A cobalt armored elite, Rdbl 'Uhcol, added. "Seriously man, I'm surprised you removed your mandibles from the commander's rear long enough to talk."

"But you should do that. Other wise you might bite his rear and give him rabies." A blue armored elite, Sebl 'Aetor, said.

"Dude, that didn't make sense' Sibl 'Cutod, an elite in teal armor, said looking at Sebl confused.

"Would you all just shut up." Onbl 'Xetul growled. The black armored elite was the only girl among them but she scared the living crap out of them.

"Just do what she says guys." Inbl 'Nodad, an elite in pink armor, pleaded.

"Yes, why don't we all take Onbl's advice and be quiet." Ckje growled. "Now more out." He ordered. The seven elites didn't need to be told again. They turned and started off down the canyon.

End Chapter 6

A/N: Did you recognize the elite troops under Ckje's command. Please review my story. See you next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well maybe I'm a great sword master

A/N: I don't own John-117, Cortana, or any of the halo stuff. This is sort of the introduction of the true enemy.

Chapter7

"Well maybe I'm a great sword master." Ben said as he followed the other soldiers. He had spent the last few minuets trying to come up with talents he might have for combat.

"First of all, you almost cut off your fingers when Kada let you use her energy sword. Second, we don't have any energy swords so what good would that do us?" Max asked as he followed behind Amanda and John.

"Do they ever shut up?" John asked the Sergeant. He kept his eyes on the area ahead of them as he spoke not willing to let his guard down all the way.

Amanda loaded three more shots into her shotgun before replying. "Nope, you have to learn to block them out or you'll go insane." She warned as she raised her shotgun to point ahead of her.

The four soldiers stopped as static came over the com channel. "Ahce….Forerunner tech…no flood…proceed with caution." The voiced of Ahce 'Sirut said. She repeated the message again before the coms went dead.

The marines exchanged glances. "By forerunner did she mean like the Halos? Like the flood infected tech?" Max asked.

There wasn't an imitate answer. When it became apparent that John wasn't going to reply Cortana spoke. "Yes, the halos were forerunner and they had flood on them. We should stay alert and be ready." She advised them.

"Amanda you stay up front with me. A shotgun will do us good if we run into combat forms." He said turning to continue walking. Amanda walked along side him and the two other marines followed behind them.

"Man if we meet any flood I'm dead." Ben muttered as he raised his assault rifle to face ahead of him rather then at the ground as it had been a moment ago.

"Don't worry man; I've got your back." Mass assured him as she raised his sniper rifle and glanced around a bit nervous.

The team continued until entering a hall similar to the one the elite team had traveled. It was obvious even to the privets that John was very alert. He scanned every inch of the area around him and every time they tried to speak he would quiet them immediately.

They made their way down the hall to a lift similar to the one the sangheili were on. The troops stopped to observe their surroundings. The walls of this lift were untouched. They even seemed to shine as if brand new. "What do you make of this ma'am?" Ben asked studying a symbol on the wall.

Max's eye was caught by a holo pad. It had a series of symbols all a bright violet or orange. He wasn't even conscious of his actions as he reached up. His fingers grazed the symbols.

Suddenly the lift started to move. The lift started to descend quickly down. The movement snapped Max out of his daze. He looked around surprised by the movement. "What's going on?" He asked.

"You tell me soldier. What did you do?" Amanda asked glaring at the sniper. "I can't take my eyes off you for a second can I?"

"I don't know. I don't remember doing anything." Max replied truthfully. He couldn't recall doing anything that would cause the lift to move. He looked at where he was on the lift and realized he had no idea how he got over to the control panel.

The lift slowly skidded to a halt. The four soldiers turned toward a rectangular entrance on one wall of the lift. There in the entrance stood a griffon like creature. It stood on two legs like a human and let out a cry of anger when it spotted the humans. Its lower half was that of a leopard while its upper body was similar to that of a raven. It spread its wings behind it and raised an odd shaped weapon in its hands. The weapon fired three times shooting shots of energy that glowed a blood red.

The humans dove out of the way and all three shots hit the opposite side of the lift. The soldiers took cover behind the guide rails on the sides of the lift. "Shit, what is that thing?' Ben asked glancing across the lift at Max and Amanda. He then turned to John who had taken cover behind the same rail.

"We'll find that out after it's dead." The Spartan replied. "Any injuries?" He asked.

"No, this armor might not be as good as yours but it is good enough." Ben replied as he switched over to his magnum. A few more shots were fired by the creature before it cried out once more. This cry was different from the first challenging cry. It sounded more of fear and pain and was followed shortly by a dull thud. Ben glanced around the rail to see the last person he expected.

End Chapter 7

A/N: Well there is Chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be up tomorrow. Until then please review and I'll see you next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

The lift slowly came to a halt

A/N: I don't own John-117, Cortana, or any of the halo stuff.

Chapter 8

The lift slowly came to a halt. As one the five sangheili turned to the one entrance to the lift. The rectangular entrance stood empty and just as battle scared as the lift itself. Ahce nodded to Kada and the odd elite moved first. The ascetic armored elite was followed by the other four as she exited the lift.

The rectangular opening lead into a long hallway. The dusty brown walls and gray floors showed similar signs of a firefight as the previous areas. "What do you think caused these burns?" Saco asked over the radio.

"Hard to say." Omis replied studying one of the burn marks. "They look different from plasma burns." She added gripping her carbine a bit harder. The burns had a tint of red to them while plasma burns left only black marks on metal.

"The flood doesn't make its own weapons." Ahce said as she shouldered her carbine. She switched over to her energy sword.The weapon flared to life with a flash and an electric crack. "Be ready for whatever may be down here."

"Maybe it's another species that the loyalists tried to recruit." Kada suggested. "Some of the burns look like they could be from plasma."

"Then they won't look kindly on strangers." Xece remarked dryly. His energy sword flared to life as well as he switched from his beam rifle.

They made their way down hallways that were all battle scarred. "How do you know where you're going?" Saco asked Kada.

"I don't. I'm just following the path the battle seems to have taken." Kada replied. The other elites exchanged worried glances. They were following a lost nut ball toward possible enemies.

The last hallway opened up into a large circular room. It was teen metters in diameter all around and in the center was a single walk way. The walkeway stretched from one end of the room to the other and in the center had a large circular platform. In the center of the platform was a computer. The elites made their way to it quickly and stopped creating a circle around Kada as she went to work hooking up a handheld to the computer. Contrary to the colorful landscape above ground everything below ground was dark colors. The walk way was a dark gray while the walls of the room were black. The computer was steel gray with lights of dark red and blue dotted along it.

Once Kada had hooked up the handheld she got to work. She was absorbed in the glowing screen covered in writing. She didn't even look up when an echoing cry fill the air. Ahce turned to Xece. "You and I will take a look." She said before turning to the other two. "You two guard Kada while she works." She instructed. "Come on." She ordered turning to the only other entrance. Xece followed beside her as they ran off down the hallway.

The two elites ran down the hall. The sound of battle were clear leading them through every turn. They skidded to a halt when a creature walked out in front of them. Its upper half was that of a hawk while it stood on the rear legs of a lion. It turned to them and raised its weapon to attack.

Xece was the first to move. With lighting speed he brought his energy sword forward and slached the creature from its left hip to right shoulder. The flesh gave way as the weapon cut through it like a hot knife through butter. Violet blood sprayed forth covering Xece. The creature then fell limply to the ground.

Ahce looked around. The sounds hadn't stopped. "This wasn't what was causing the noise." She said racing off toward the sound. She wasn't about to let Xece have all the fun.

She turned the last corner to see another griffon creature standing ahead. It was too focused on whatever it was fighting to hear Ahce come up behind it. She brought her sword down cutting the creature down its back. It let out a cry of pain and fell forward in a lifeless heap.

The elite was the picture of warrior perfection as she stood over her kill. Her energy sword gave off just the right amount of light to illuminate the shinning silver armor of Ahce. The blood splatters along her front wall all the more visible against the shinning armor. Her face was half in the shadow of the hall and half lighted by the sword.

Ahce raised her arm and wiped the blood from her face. She looked toward where the creature was shooting to find the hallway opened up into another lift. A head appeared by one of the guide rails. Ahce immediately recognized the lime green helmet. "Shards, here I thought we would get more time away from these humans to do some real military work." She said as Xece stopped behind her. The four humans walked out from behind their cover toward the blood covered elites. "No offence to you Sergeant, Master Chief." She said nodding to Amanda and John.

"You might want to add Barnie to that list." Amanda said grinning behind her helmet.

Ahce turned to Xece confused. The male elite just shrugged and looked toward the humans. "Barnie is a purple dinosaur from a kid show a really long time ago." Ben clarified. "She was talking about Max."

"You got that right." Max nearly shouted. "If I hadn't been caught off guard by how odd that thing looked I would have put a bullet right between its eyes." The sniper said raising his sniper rifle.

"Put that thing away before you shoot someone." Amanda ordered him.

"Yes ma'am." Max replied crestfallen. It was obvious he was rather proud of his skill but all the more excited to prove himself to the elites. After a year and a half of being looked down on now he had a skill that he could be proud of as a soldier. That along with his new found usefulness on the battle field made him very opposed to putting away his sniper rifle.

"The rest of my team is waiting. We found a computer." Ahce said turning around to head back down the hall. "We're hoping I can tell us what happened here."

"What happened? There are griffon creatures living here. That's what happened." Amanda said following the sangheili. "What makes you think that something happened here?"

"Because the way we came down was covered with evidence of a fight." Ahce replied curtly as she continued down the hall. The humans fell silent and followed behind the two sangheili.

End chapter 8

A/N: There is some action for you. I hope you liked it. Now review people. Tell me what you think. Tell me if you like it, hate it, think it doesn't seem to have an actual plot. Whatever just review. I will see you next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Well here is chapter 9

A/N: Well here is chapter 9. I don't own Cortana, John-117, or any of the halo stuff. Just enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 9

"I don't know it looks really dark in there." Inbl 'Nodad said looking into one of the caves.

"Yeah and we don't know which one they went into. There is no reason to explore caves that may contain hundreds of bats." Erbl 'Irgus said sounding nervous.

"Bats? We don't even know if bats exist on this planet." Ckbl 'Misod retorted turning to the orange armored elite.

"Yeah, but what if they are on this planet. There is no reason to try to find out." Erbl replied turning to face the maroon armored elite.

"Actually I think that's a great reason to go looking for bats. Maybe we would know what kind of creatures live here." Ckbl shot back.

"By the great journey do they ever stop fighting?" Sibl 'Aetor asked turning to the black and cobalt elites. "It's like thy are old mates." He said looking back at the bickering two. "It's obvious they are in love. Why don't they just admit it?"

"What would you know of love?" Rdbl 'Uhcol replied glaring at Sibl.

"Well I haven't hit on Inbl yet and she's not half bad looking." The teal armored elite replied.

"Sibl, Inbl is not a female." Rdbl retorted with a slight sigh.

"Aw man. When are we going to get a female on the team?" Sibl whined.

"You do know I'm female right?" Onbl 'Xetul glared at Sibl with killer intent.

The teal elite turned to her. "I know but I mean like a female female." He replied

"What the hell does that mean?" She growled back at him.

"Nothing." Sibl replied terrified of what the black armored elite.

Onbl turned to Rdbl. The cobalt elite shrugged. "Go ahead." He said. Half a second later the butt of Onbl's carbine smashed into Sibl's head. The teal elite fell to the ground clutching his head. "Ha, ha, nice." Rdbl laughed at the fallen elite. "Nice going man." He said turning to Onbl. She glared at him and he took a step back. "Hey, we both know I know you're female." He said fearing her wrath.

"Stop that you fools." Ckje barked and all seven turned to look at the commander.

"Sorry sir, matter of personal pride." Onbl said. Sibl slowly stood up still clutching his head.

Ckje did not remark on the explanation. "Check the entrances of the caves for signs they might have gone in." He ordered. The other elites ran off to start checking the caves.

way below ground

Rezarun looked down from his balcony above the training ground. Below hundreds of soldiers were doing there daily exercises. The commander ruffled his feathers pleased with how well they were doing. Rezarun's upper half was that of a bald eagle while his lower half was the same as a white bangle tiger. He was of high birth his father having been the commander before him and his mother having been a priestess.

A griffin with the upper half of a seagull and the lower half of a bobcat walked up behind him. "Sir, the hold council is ready to meet with you."

"Tell them I will be there shortly." Rezarun said. Once the other griffin was gone he turned back to his thoughts. He hated meeting with the hold council. They were the three highest ranking priests and priestesses. They always had problems with his military actions. They would stop his plans. He clicked his beak in annoyance and then turned to walk to the council room.

The commander entered the large white room. It was devoid of any markings on the walls like the rest of their home. While the walls of the holy ground were marked by the ancient gods that had once lived there the council room showed no signs of the same symbols. In the center of the room a round table stood with three griffins sitting at it. All three had the lower half of a white lion and the upper half of a dove. Each one wore a sash on their shoulders of a primary color. The priest to Rezarun's far left wore a yellow sash and went by the title Glory. Beside Glory sat the priest of Retribution. His red sash stood out against his white feathers. On Rezarun's far right sat the priestess of Loyalty. The commander knew that one day the blue sashed priestess would be his mate. That was how it was for their kind. The same as his parents had been the commander of the military was always the mate of the female member of the council. This fact didn't mean he had to, or did, like her. In his eyes they were nothing but stubborn fools who could not see the possibilities.

"Commander Rezarun. We are pleased to see you could join us." Retribution said looking at the commander.

"I can always make time for the holy council." Rezarun replied in a pleasant tone. "Might I ask why it is you have called for me?"

"We understand you are still pushing for exploration outside the hold ground." Loyalty said obviously against the idea.

"That is true." Rezarun replied well aware of what direction the conversation would take. "I believe there may be more relics above ground."

"You are aware that leaving the hold ground it heresy." Glory said displeased. "To set foot off of hold ground is a sin and would cause damnation for all."

"We can not allow you to take this course of action." Loyalty said ruffling her feathers. "We insist that you stop this foolishness."

"I must disagree with your council." Rezarun said standing tall under their gaze. "Our numbers have grown and we are running out of living space. We need to expand and there may be more holy ground above us." He argued.

"I have heard enough." Retribution said standing up. His white wings opened and he stood tall. "You will stop there vile ideas. There will be no exploration and that is final." The priest said. It was obvious that the discussion was over. The council had spoken and Rezarun had lost. Their word would always out weigh his.

Rezarun bowed to the three. "I understand." He said hiding his displeasure.

"You are dismissed." Retribution said sitting down once more.

"Yes your holiness." The commander said turning and leaving the council room. He was not ready to give up. Not by a long shot.

End Chapter 9.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the rvb stuff and the new face of the enemy. Tell me what you think. I really do care. I am up for any ideas that you have for the future. Please review and I will see you next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Alright so we get back to our dear sangheilis. I don't own John-117, Cortana, or any of the halo stuff.

Chapter 10

Two carbines shifted like lightning to point at Ahce. The elite stopped dead in her tracks. "At ease soldiers." She ordered. Once the soldiers had lowered their weapons she and the others entered the dome room.

Kada stood up and turned to her leader. "Ma'am, I was able to translate a bit. Their language is different so it's kind of hard to tell if it is right."

"Tell me what you found." Ahce said walking up to the tech elite.

"Well from what I can gather we were right. The loyalists were here and they did fight whatever lives down here." Kada reported.

"You mean those griffin things?" Ben asked.

"Griffins? First of all what is a griffin? Second, how the halo should I know. There aren't any pictures." Kada snapped. "Now can I get back to the important stuff?" When Ben nodded Kada continued. "As I was saying, they fought. Whatever lives here won and the loyalists retreated. From the language I would have to guess that they are very religious. A symbol which could only mean hold is very common in their writing." the elite reported.

"Well done Kada. You have done very well." Kada stood up taller under the praise of her leader. "We have fought these creatures. They do not wear armor, or at least the ones we killed didn't. That may not be the case when we meet them again."

"Dont' you mean if we meet them again?" Max asked.

"Soldier, my gut tells me we will meet them again." she said simply. She then turned to John. "Master Chief, can Cortana find us a map?"

"I can and as soon as I"m connected with their systems, will." Cortana replied. "Just plug me in Chief." She said. John removed her data chip from his armor and inserted it into the computer. "I have no doubt that this is forerunner." She paused for a moment then spoke. "I found us a map." She said triumphantly.

"Alright, upload it to Kada's hand held." Ahce ordered. "Can you figure out anything else about these creatures?" She asked.

"Nothing Kada hasn't already told us. I am sure that this place is dangerous. Some of the symbols match ones I have seen on the halos. Sadly my translation software doesn't work on their language." Cortana replied. "Considering you just killed two of those creatures I would suggest we shouldn't stay in one place for to long." She said. John removed her from the computer, returned her to his armor, and turned to Ahce and Amanda.

"I say we go the opposite way of the dead griffins." Amanda said turning toward the entrance the elites had come from.

"Lets not stand around." Ahce said as she switched back to her carbine. She then turned and started toward the entrance her team had first entered the room through. The others started to follow her as she started off.

All except for Max. "How the hell does she do that?" He asked.

Xece laughed slightly but continued to walk. "I've never thought about it." Kada admitted. When Omis raised her hand she turned. "What?"

"Is it because she had 25 years of experience and has killed more humans and loyalists then the rest of us?" She asked as if on a game show.

"No that's why we follow her orders, not follow her physically. Whenever she moves we follow no matter what" Kada said.

"Ask Xece. I only follow her because he does. He always has. I thought that was what we were suppose to do." Saco said.

Kada turned to her. "Me too. I had no idea. He was just always following her so I did." Saco said laughing a bit. "Hell she doesn't even have the map and I'm following her."

Max just turned to Ben. "Is it me or are elites just blarging weird?" The sniper asked.

"I don't honking know." Ben said turning to look for their sergeant. "Hey guys where is everyone else?"

The elites and Ben turned to find John, Amanda, Ahce, and Xece all gone. "Oh blarg." Max said before he and the others started to run down the hall to find the others.

With Ckje

"Sir I found a hole." Ckje reported walking up to the fleet master.

"Aren't we in a hole?" Erbl asked looking at his teammate.

"No we're in a cave dumb ass." Rdbl snapped.

"I don't know. It seems like more of a tunnel." Sibl chimed in.

"They're basically the same thing." Rdbl replied turning toward the teal elite.

"No they aren't they are different." Sibl shot back.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that there is a hole." Ckbl shouted. He turned to talk to Ckje but found the fleet master gone. "Sir, sir?" Ckbl called out sounding like he was having a panic attack.

"Calm down kiss ass. I'm sure he just wen to check out your hold." Erbl said.

"Looks like he took the ladies with him." Sibl said noticing the pink and black elites were gone.

"For the last time Inbl is male not female." Rdbl growled.

"Yeah but his armor's pink." Ckbl pointed out.

"Not really." Rdbl said turning toward the maroon elite. "His armor is just a bit lighter then red."

"They already have a name for a color slightly lighter then red, pink." Erbl retorted.

"Quiet yellow bat man." Sebl said walking up beside Rdble. At the word bat Erbl ducked down and started to look around terrified.

"Shut up Sebl." The cobalt elite barked. "Any way, the color of his armor doesn't change his gender."

Erbl was about to reply when Ckje, Inble, and Onbl walked up. "What are you ladies talking about?" The fleet master asked.

"Just about how Onbl and Inble should switch armor so Sibl won't hit on Inbl." Erbl joked.

Ckje nodded and Onbl's carbine made contact with the orange elite's head. The injured elite cursed loudly as he fell to the ground. "Alright lets move out back to the ship."

"But what about the crew of the hand in hand?" Rdbl asked looking into the darkness of the cave.

"Lost." Ckje said simply. "Our engineers can always make more armor." The commander said. The others fell silent and followed the field master as he started to walk back the way they had come.

End Chapter 10

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the little RVB stuff in there. I hope that you will review and tell me any ideas you have or anything. Until next chapter, goodbye.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So I own like everything in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 11

Artom stood tall before the hold council. This was the first time he was appearing before the council without Rezarun. He wasn't about to look unprofessional before them, that much he had been sure of. He had even taken extra time to make himself presentable. His bangle tiger fur had been properly cleaned and he had removed any broken or dirty feathers from this red tailed hawk half. He had no idea why he had been called to meet them. As sub-commander he was never suppose to be in their presence without the commander. He fought to keep his wings and tail still so the holy council would not know of his fear. The last thing he wanted to do was show weakness before them. At that moment he was breaking the laws that had stood for hundreds of years. Artom was devoted and followed those laws to the punctuation so the act of breaking one upset him greatly. .

The council sat watching the sub-commander with examining eyes. As if they were looking for him to cave and show his discomfort with breaking the laws. They stayed like that for almost half an hour before anyone spoke. "You look uncomfortable." Retribution finally said.

"My apologies your holiness. I know you are aware but I am merely a sub-commander. It is a violation of our sacred laws for me to be in your presence without the commander present." Artom said trying to keep his nervousness from his voice. He knew the council was aware of the law, it was their purpose in life to follow it. This fact only upset him even more. He could not understand why the council would break the laws they were meant to uphold.

"We are glad you brought up the commander." Loyalty said not hiding her dislike for Rezarun. It was well known that the commander and Loyalty did not get along. They had often argued and word was quick to spread of anyone opposing a member of the council. "We actually wanted to speak to you about him."

"He has not fallen ill has he?" Artom asked. He masked his hope with false concern for his superior officer. For years he had hoped that the commander would die. It wasn't about power for Artom, following the hold law was all he needed in life. It was Rezarun's persistent attempts to break those laws that meant so much. It was a commonly known fact that the commander favored exploration despite the hold laws it would break. It had always aggravated Artom that a heretic such as Rezarun was in charge of the army.

"If only that were the case." Loyalty remarked quietly. If it weren't for the silent room the words would not have been herd at all but in the holy chamber all words were heard loud and clear by those that listened. Glory shot her a glare that shut the priestess's mouth.

"As you know commander Rezarun has been in charge of the military for almost 15 years now." Retribution said in a very formal tone. "In that time our military has become much stronger, there is no denying that. Our weapons have become more affective and, as was proven from the invasion, our troops have become stronger."

"He has a way with words." Loyalty said obviously reluctant to admit that the commander was at all worth anything. "This makes him very dangerous."

"How so your holiness?" Artom asked although he already knew. The sub-commander was not going to give any hint of his hatred for the commander. He wad determined to continue to show the respect that was deserved by the commander.

"Don't play games with us sub-commander." Glory spoke in his deep commanding voice. Artom was struck for a moment. He had never heard Glory speak before and to the sub-commander it sounded like the voice of the gods themselves. "A devoted soldier suck as yourself is fully aware of the foolish plans that Rezarun has tried to implement. His sinful ideas to explore outside of the hold ground."

"Yes sir I am aware of his attempts for exploration. None of them were passed." Artom said seriously. He didn't bother to hide his hatred fro the idea. He knew that he could not lie to the council.

"We feel that with his motivational abilities and his plans that he must not be in control of the military any longer." Retribution said. "the problem is that he is to loved by our troops."

"We can not just demote him, no matter how much of a heretic he has been." Loyalty continued. "There is no telling what might happen."

"Then what is it that you have decided to do to address this problem?" Artom asked. He was sure they would not be speaking if there had been no solution decided on.

"We want you to take control but not publicly. You have always been the voice of the commander. Relaying orders to the lesser troops. You will give the true orders, your own orders, rather then the orders of that heretic. Let Rezarun think he is still in control. That way the troops think he is still leading them and we do not have any problems."

"If that is the will of the council then it shall be done." Artom said bowing to the three hold griffins. He smirked to himself. This was what he had always wanted. Finally Rezarun would lose the power he had.

"You may leave now." Loyalth said simply.

"Yes your holiness." Artom said turning and walking out of the holy chamber.

With Rezarun

The commander turned as a soldier entered the room. "Ah, my ever loyal Etsul." Rezarun said smiling at the special ops commander.

The half leopard half raven griffin bowed to the commander. "You have called me with an assignment sir?" Etsul asked a bit hopeful. Since the invasion had been stopped there had been very little for his troops to do. There wasn't much need for the elite troops in everyday matters.

"I spoke to the hold council yesterday." He said anger evident in his voice as the smile vanished from his face.

"I take it they turned down your plans once more." Etsul guessed. The stealth griffin had always stood by the commander in his attempts for exploration. Now would be no exception. It wasn't that uncommon with the growing population and the rise in the will of the soldiers. For as long as ether Rezarun or Etsul knew rank had always decided who your mate would be. The troops however had started to be offended by this law. None of them were aloud mates and with the help of Rezarun they had started to think for themselves. The army itself was only held together by the commander. If not for him then a civil war would likely break out between the devoted and the progressive griffins.

"We have to take matters into our own hands Etsul." Rezarun said taking a deep breath. "We can no longer wait for the council to see the truth. I am authorizing you go proceed with our plans. As far as you know the council agreed with my plans." He said looking away from his friend. If they were caught he was not going to let the special ops griffin go down with him.

"Your orders are understood." Etsul said bowing to the commander. It was no wonder that the commander had the loyalty of his troops. He expected nothing but trust and devotion followers and he gave the same to those that followed him. The stealth griffin then left the room. Rezarun turned to look out at this troops who were training. They were the drive behind his actions. He had watched them grow from clumsy soldiers to proper worriers. "I'm doing this for you." He said trying to convince himself that although his actions were blasphemy that they were right.

With Etsul

Etsul entered the barracks of his special ops troops. He turned to his second in command. Aedum gather the troops. He ordered. Like Etsul all of the special ops were half raven half leopard. Once they had all gathered he stood before his troops. "The day has come my brothers. Fro to long have we been confined to this holy g round. To long have wee had out living space chosen for us. To long have we been confined by law to only two children or no children at all. To long have we been denied mates because our rank is not high enough. Soon we will be able to pick where ever we wish to live and how much land. Have as many young as we wish and mate with whoever we so chose." His troops cheered. "We are to go through with our plans and explore outside of the holy ground." The troops cheered once more at their leaders words. For so long the special ops had been confined to small spaces and never aloud to mate. It had created a long standing grudge that the previous generations had passed down through the years. It had grown and under Rezarun the special ops had devoted themselves to the pursuit of their freedom. "Now go suit up. There is work to be done." The once more cheered and with great speed disassembled to prepare to move forward with their plans.

End chapter 11

A/N:Alright so now this story has caught up with my Deviantart and my Roster Teeth. Now you will have to wait like the others for new chapters. I shall get started on chapter 12 right away. In the mean time review and give me any ideas you have or anything you are hoping to see. Until then, see you next chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A/N:I don't own any elite stuff or any of the RVB quote like things. Have fun reading.

Chapter 12

"Man why didn't we bring a ghost?" Erbl 'Irgus complained as he and the rest of the team walked down the canyon.

"Ghosts, why would we want ghosts? Why not a shadow?" Ckbl 'Misod said looking to the orange armored elite.

"Yeah, but ghosts look cooler." Sibl 'Cuted interrupted. "You can't pick up chicks in a shadow."

"What chicks? Onbl is the only girl here and a ghost isn't going to impress her." Rdbl 'Uncol growled at the teal elite.

"Yeah, vehicles don't mean much to me. Now weaponry would be important." Onbl 'Xetul said with a huff.

Sibl paid the female elite no mind and continued on. "Oh but you could get some cool neon lights and spinner rims. Then you'd have one sweet ass ride." Sibl said as sounding quite pleased with the idea.

"Ghosts don't have wheels. Spinner rims wouldn't even belong on one." Ckbl snapped at Sibl.

"Whatever." Sibl said waving off Ckbl's words of logic.

"I think a ghost would be great if they were visible." Sebl 'Aetor spoke up very confident in his idiotic statement.

"Ghosts are visible." Inbl 'Nodad said turning to the blue elite looking very confused.

"Ghosts aren't visible. If they were then I would have to wash my feet every day." Sebl said huffing at Inbl. The other elites all turned to look at the incoherent elite. None of them could make heads or tails of the comment. They were all so engrossed in the comment that Erbl and Ckbl ran into the back of Ckje.

The fleet master growled at the two minor elites. He then turned his attention back to his radio. "Say that again." He requested.

"I said we've identified a forerunner structure about 10 miles south west of your position." Stpe 'Aewas said over the radio. "A phantom will arrive shortly to pick up you and your troops and take you to the location. You are to check it out and be sure that it is clear of any loyalists, flood, or dangerous tech." The shipmaster ordered.

"Understood." Ckje replied before turning off his radio. The fleet master turned to his troops. "Listen up, we have a new job. A phantom will be here shortly to pick us up and take us to a forerunner structure that has been discovered near by." He informed them.

"Forerunner? Like THE forerunners? The giant ring forerunners?" Erbl asked obviously not happy with the idea.

"Yes, the only forerunners we know of." Ckje snapped at the orange elite. "Now I don't want any screw ups. We may encounter the flood or loyalists. Let us pray that we find neither and find that this structure has no connection with the halos. Be ready though to have those situations prove true." He warned as the phantom slowly lowered to the land behind him. Once the troops were safely aboard the phantom Ckje gave the go ahead for the pilot to take off. The phantom's engines roared as the ship rose into the air and speed off toward the forerunner structure.

with the stealth griffin squad

Etsul looked at his troops. Their jet black armor was shined and looked brand new. It would be hard to tell that all of the soldiers were veterans of conflict and had proven themselves when the invasion happened. The team of 20 griffins stood checking over their armor and weapons. The stealth commander turned as Rezarun walked into the room. The white griffin stood out among the black fur and feathers of the stealth team.

"Sir." Etsul said standing up taller in front of the commander. "We are ready to head out. We ask for your blessing in our endeavors." Etsul said bowing to Rezarun.

"You have my orders." Rezarun replied. He could not give them the blessing they wished for. He did not have the power to bless a mission that had been condemned by the council. Once they proved that the land beyond the hold ground was habitable then things would change. The old strict ways would be a thing of the past. The hide bound council would be seen for the fools they were and a new age of freedom would begin.

"That is good enough for us." Etsul assured him. The other griffins nodded in agreement wit their commander. "We will carry them out proudly." The stealth elite said before putting on his helmet. The specially designed visor would shield the team's eyes against the light above ground.

"May the gods see you safe." Rezarun muttered as the stealth griffins put on their helmets and got in formation. He was proud to have soldiers like them on his side.

As one the griffins turned and the lines of black griffins marched off down the hallway. The white griffin watched them as they vanished into the shadows in the hall.

Like shadows on the wall the stealth griffins moved silently down the hall. They knew that the guards on the edge of the holy ground would not notice them. For years the team had practiced by sneaking pass the guards, now would be no different.

Etsul crouched flat against the wall hidden by the shadows. He looked over to Aedum able to see him clearly with the night vision setting on his visor. It was something that only his team would ever have. There was no need for the other soldiers to have the night vision. He nodded and his second in command nodded back. After letting the guard pass by the stealth team raced down the hall to an elevator. Once all of the griffins were on board Aedum pressed a symbol on the controls and the elevator sprang to life. The griffins shifted a bit nervous as the elevator rose up. Etsul could not blame them. There was no telling what they would find above ground. He was confident though that whatever they may find his team could beat it. He had seen them fight and had lead them through their many victories against the loyalists when they tried to invade their home. The stealth commander checked his weapon to be sure it was working properly. He knew that it was but he too was worried about what they might find. Etsul took a deep calming breath and readied himself for whatever may happen.

End chapter 12

A/N: Alright. I still have no idea what will happen next time but you know I'll figure it out. Give me any ideas you have or tell me anything you really want to see. So review is basically what I'm trying to say. See you next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

The team of elites and humans walking down what seemed to be another identical hallway

A/N: I don't own John-117, Cortana, or any halo stuff. That all belongs to Bungie. I would like to thank Katsuhiro for inspiring the first little part with the human troops. Enjoy.

Chapter 13

The team of elites and humans walking down what seemed to be another identical hallway. Kada lead the team as she followed the map on her handheld. Behind her walked her fellow sangheili followed by the humans.

"You know there's something that has been bothering me." Cortana said breaking the repetitive sound of footsteps of the soldiers.

"What? That creatures with wings are living under ground?" Max asked glancing over at John.

"Well that is a bit odd." The AI admitted. "That's not what I was talking about though. I've been wondering why you all go by your first names." Cortana explained. When the marines looked at her confused she continued. "What I mean is when we first met you all you introduced yourselves by your first names and gave no last names. That is hardly what I would expect from a soldier."

"Well our job is hardly that of a soldier." Amanda replied. "Ben and Max are short one silible names. Fast to say and easy to remember. As for me, well I got tired of them." She said motioning to the two privets.

"Why? What's your last name?" Cortana asked.

"Shunununumen." Max and Ben both said in a mocking tone before laughing. The staff Sergeant growled.

Cortant decided to switch subjects to avoid angering the female soldier more. "Where are we heading anyway?" Cortana asked.

The team turned to Kada but the tech elite didn't look up. "I found what seems to be a control room. If not then it is at least the sight of a major computer." Kada explained.

"Shouldn't we be looking for an exit? You know a way above ground?" Ben asked.

"We don't know what this forerunner tech can do. Our first priority should be to find out if it is dangerous and if so if it is connected to the Halos." Ahce explained a bit of anger evident in her voice.

The team stopped when they came to a large door. They all readied their weapons for the possible fight. Max took up a position in the rear with Xece. Max made sure his sniper rifle was fully loaded while Xece prepared his beam rifle. The other elites loaded their carbines while John checked the rounds in his assault rifle. A loud click sounded as Amanda finished loading her shotgun. Ben stood between the Spartan and Sergeant not sure what to do. The assault rifle in his hand felt foreign and the privet shuddered at the thought of killing another creature. "This might be a bad time but I'm a consciences objector." He muttered.

A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back behind Max and Xece. The scared privet realized that it had been the male elite that had moved him back. The elite growled at him as if warning him to stay out of the way. For a second Ben was stunned. He then looked over to Max to see if he would stand up for his him. He knew he wouldn't when Xece spoke. "Are you ready?" The male elite asked Max. There was no anger in his voice like there usually was. The fact that the quiet elite had spoke to Max at all was a wonder. Xece usually only spoke t Ahce and on rare occasion the other elites. Max nodded back before raising his sniper rifle. Ben looked at the soldiers before him. Even Max looked ready to fight no matter what was on the other side of the door. He then realized how much he didn't belong. He never even wanted to be a soldier. He had only joined the army to make his father happy. Now he was stuck in a combat situation that he was far from ready for. Nervously Ben crouched down behind Xece as Kada went to work on the control to the doors. He shot a fearful glance at his friend but Max was too focused to notice.

The controls to the door lit green and slowly the door slid open. In the room stood fire griffins of different appearances. They turned at the sound of the opening door. They let out cries of surprise and reached for near my pistols. Ahce and Saco opened fire and cut down one griffin. The other four dove for cover. The following fire fight seemed to drag on for some time. The griffins stayed behind a barrier they made from a desk. One peeked his head up over the edge of the desk to aim. It was his fatal mistake as a round from Max's sniper rifle ripped through the griffin's head. The dead body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Another one of the griffins cried in rage from its shelter. It stood up and before it was cut down by fire from the other soldiers it shot three times. Two shots went wide but one hit its mark. The shot hit Max on the arm and the marine let out a slight shout of pain. Max crouched down and gripped his bleeding arm. Another of the griffins jumped over the desk and rushed the soldiers. Once the griffin was a few feet away Amanda stepped forward. She fired on the creature and the shell shot through the griffin's neck. Blood shot forth from the wound splattering blood along the walls. When the griffins took another step forward Amanda put a shell through the griffin's head. The griffin fell back dead. The other two griffins refused to move from their cover. The sounds of the last shots faded.

"Now what do we do?" Amanda asked keeping her eyes on the desk. Xece looked over at Max. The marine was trying to stop the bleeding but was unsuccessful. It was obvious the sniper was in pain. Xece growled in anger. He raised his beam rifle and after a moment he fired two shots. The shots went right through the battered desk and were soon followed by two dull thuds. The soldiers stood still for a moment.

"I probably should have mentioned that Xece is rather vengeful. I was injured once by a brute and he blew up the engine to one of their ships causing them to crash." Ahce said flatly as she started to move forward. Slowly the other elites, John, and Amanda made their way into the room. They moved around the desk to find Xece had made two killing shots on the final griffins. Once they were sure the room was clear the team relaxed a bit.

Amanda ran back out into the hall to check on Max. She was surprised to see that Max's wound had been bandaged. "Who patched you up?" The Sergeant asked.

"I bandaged him ma'am." Ben replied.

Amanda stared at him for a moment. "You know medical skills?" She asked surprised.

Ben shrugged. "I was and Eagle Scout and I took several classes on first aid at the local YMCA." Ben replied.

Amanda took a deep breath and turned to Max. "How are you soldier?" She asked kneeling beside him.

"I'm fine ma'am." Max replied as he stood up. Amanda followed and the three marines joined the other soldiers in the room. Xece walked over to Max and nodded to him. "Is anyone else injured?" Amanda asked.

Ahce shook her head. "No, I doubt though that these were soldiers. From the way they fought it seemed they had never been in a battle."

"I agree. There was no strategy. I'm guessing the one that hit Max was a lucky shot." John said walking up to the computer terminal. He removed Cortana and plugged her into the computer.

A hologram of the AI appeared on a near by holopad. Cortana remained quiet fro a moment. "It will take me a while to translate all of this. You'll have to sit patiently." The AI said before turning her full attention to her job. The soldier settled into wait like they had been told.

A/N: So there is chapter 13. I am sorry for how long it took me to get this up. I'm about to get started on chapter 14.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

A/N: I don't own any of the halo stuff. Just enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 14

The team of elites and humans had been waiting for almost a hour. It had finally become too much for Max and Ben and they started talking. "And before I could stop myself it slipped out." Max said with a sigh. "The nest ting I know there is a foot kicking my shin."

"I can't believe you didn't see that coming. She always kicks you when you say stupid stuff like that." Ben said laughing at his friend.

"That's it. I can't take any more of this." Saco growled as she walked toward the holopad. "Please tell me you have found something." She pleaded to the AI.

The image of Cortana appeared and smiled at Saco. "That I have." She said proudly. "In fact I found quite a few things."

John, Ahce, and Amanda joined Saco by the holopad to listen to the AI. "Please tell me they are good things." John said hoping it would turn out the planet was nothing more then a homeplanet of the forerunners and had nothing to do with the Halos or the flood.

"Well that counts on how you look at it." Cortana replied. "From the records it seems this planet was a research facility. One of many that was studying the flood and working on ways to destroy it." The AI explained.

"Does that mean the flood is on this planet?" Ahce asked. Suddenly she was all the happier that she had all her soldiers carry energy swords.

"I can't say for sure. The last records they have are of the completion of some armor." Cortana replied. "It doesn't say anything about housing the flood. I do have a bit more information on the creatures they are creations of the forerunners. They were created specifically to fight the flood."

"If they made something to stop the flood why did they use the Halos, and why did the creatures not die?" John asked.

"They weren't fully developed." Cortana explained. "The forerunners were only half way to the creatures they wanted. My guess would be they decided that they couldn't wait for the project to be finished. They were most likely kept in a few containment areas that that seemed to be safe havens to the affect of the Halos."

"So how is this good news?" Amanda asked.

"Well there is a lab not that far away that has some of the forerunner weapons. There is no telling what this could do for our fight against the flood." Cortana said obviously excited by the prospect of new technology.

"Alright, so we should make our way to this lab." Amanda said.

"Wait, there's more." Cortana said as if she were about to tell them the secret to life. "I found a power generator that would be able to amplify our radios so we could send out this new information and a distress signal."

The three soldiers fell silent. "We'll have to slit up." Amanda said. "One team can go to the lab and the other can go to the generator and send the message."

'Another should stay here." Ahce said. "This should stay our rendezvous point."

"Agreed." John said pausing for a moment. "Alright, Amanda, you Kada, and Saco are going to go to the generator. Xece, Max, Omis, and Ben will stay here and guard this room. Ahce, Cortana, and I will head to the lab."

"Agreed." Ahce said turning to Saco. "You and Kada are to follow the Sergeant's orders." She commanded."

"Yes ma'am." The two elites replied with a crisp bow.

"Xece you are in charge of the troops here." She added. The male elite simply bowed and turned to Amanda. "Take care of my soldiers." She said simply.

"Don't you worry. I'll get them back to you alive." She said with a slight smile. "You should be more worried about Xece and Omis. They have to spend more time with dumb and dumber."

"Don't you worry. If they start annoying us I'll just knock one out and the other will be to scared to talk." Omis chuckled as she walked over to her team. Amanda joined Kada and Saco as they checked over their weapons.

Once everyone was ready the teams left. "Good luck." Amanda nodded to John and Ahce. She then followed Kada and Saco out of the room.

Ahce turned to Xece. "Try not to kill them" She said before turning to John. "Lead on Spartan." John nodded and the two turned and left the room.

The elites and Spartan moved silently down the hall. John glanced over his shoulder at the seemingly nervous Ahce. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Ahce snapped her attention to John as if he'd snapped her out of a daze. "Nothing is wrong Spartan. I have just never had someone else lead my team." She said turning her attention back to their surroundings. "Do not take this the wrong way but I never felt as safe as I do with my own people to back me up."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended. I don't feel as safe without my own people to back me up." John replied as they continued down the hall.

Ahce turned back to John. "That is a bit surprising knowing how closely you worked with the Arbiter." She said a bit surprised.

"The Arbiter was a good soldier. Strong, loyal, and clear headed. Still, I would have felt safer with a marine or two around." John explained.

Ahce was about to speak when they heard a noise. It sounded like loud screeches. The two soldiers moved into a large room. It was well lit for a room void of any furniture of markings. Three of the walls were blank with just a single door. The wall opposite them was covered in a series of tinted windows. Ahce moved to the window and looked through. It looked down on a large room. The floor of the room was covered with the griffins all running what looked to be training exercises. Ahce returned to John glancing over her shoulder. "I suggest we ether find another way or move very, very quietly."

"This is the only way to the lab." Cortana said. "You'll just have to be careful."

"You heard her." John said crouching down. There was still a chance that the lights of the room would cast a silhouette against the tinted windows. They moved swiftly out of the room. John kept his battle rifle in hand not willing to let is leave his grip. If there were soldiers training near by it was likely that the hallways would have soldiers in them as well. He was right and the two stopped a few times to avoid patrols. Beside a few close calls they managed to avoid any griffins.

They entered the lab to find that it was very different from the rest of the rooms. Instead of the usual dull gray the walls were a shinning silver. The ceiling and floor were a polished black metal. Three tubes stood in the center of the room. They were filled with a clear liquid that glowed to illuminate the room. The only other thing in the room was a four foot high podium. It was made of the same silver metal as the wall and faced the three tubes. John moved to the podium and studied it. "Plug me in Chief. I'll see what I can do." Cortana said. John did as she told him and removed her from his armor and inserted her into a slot on the podium. Cortanta's avatar appeared between the tubes. "This is amazing. There's so much information." Cortana said. "Ill look for weapons and armor to use against the flood."

John nodded and turned as Ahce walked up beside him. He was about to issue an order when he heard a noise. The two soldiers turned together as the door they entered through opened.

End chapter 14

A/N: So there is chapter 14. I recently was taking care of my mother, who just got out of surgery, so I got a lot of writing done. It will be no time before chapter 15 is up. There will be action in the next chapter, a long hand cramping section of action. Please review and give me any tips you have to make the story better or anything that you would like to see. Until next chapter, bye.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A/N: I don't own anything from Halo. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 15

The door to the laboratory slid open revealing two griffins. They screeched in anger and a half sparrow half bobcat griffin raised its weapon. The half robin half lion griffin beside it forced it to lower the weapon. The robin griffin screeched something to the other. They then turned back to Ahce and John.

Upon seeing the griffins John and Ahce had taken cover. John took cover behind the podium but Ahce was not as lucky. There was no other good cover so Ahce moved behind one of the tubes. The elite turned to Cortana. "Put a rush on that info." She said glancing around the tube to look at the griffins. To her surprise they were no longer there. She looked around for any glimpse of where they might have gone. She turned when she heard John fire his gun. As soon as she turned toward the sound something slammed into her head.

John had guessed that the griffins were using some sort of camouflage. The fact that they hadn't opened fire was proof enough to him that the lab was important and they would move to hand to hand combat. When he caught sight of a shimmer near by he didn't hesitate to open fire. His bullets pinged off the energy shield of the griffin. There technology was good, if not better, then that of the humans of elites. After depleting his battle rifle of rounds he slammed the butt of his riffle into the griffin's head. He managed to bring down the griffin's shield but that wasn't enough. The griffin reached out and grabbed John's helmet with its taloned hands. The Spartan grabbed its arm tightly to keep it from retracting its hand and causing damage. He then kicked out with his foot. It slammed into the griffin's stomach and the creature cried out in anger and in pain. Its other reached out to claw at John's visor. With lightning reflexes John put up his arm and the griffin's other hand gripped his forearm. John was sure he could kill the creature if he could get just one good hit. Swiftly John swept out the legs of the griffin from under it. The griffin and Spartan fell to the ground and John heard the sound of breaking bone. The griffin cried in pain cone more. John grabbed the griffin's head and with all his strength slammed the creature's head into the ground. He heard and felt the griffin's head crack as it impacted the floor. The griffin's grasp on him released and its arms fell limply to the ground. John stood up and looked down at the dead griffin. Blood oozed from its head and it was obvious the fall had broken one of the creature's wings. He then remembered Ahce. He turned and looked around for her. He noticed the dead body of the other griffin. Swiftly John moved over to it and examined the body. The creature's feathers were ruffled and it's claws were covered in blood. Protruding from the creature's head was a shard of silver metal. He looked to the right and saw Ahce. The elite's armor was scratched up and she was missing her helmet. Alon her head were three scratch marks that were bleeding. John moved to Ahce's side. "Ahce, are you alright?" He asked.

Ahce gripped her head in pain. "Yes Spartan I am alright." She looked around at the fragments of her helmet and picked a small shard up. "My armor on the other hand is not so good." She said looking down at her scratched up armor. "Oh well, I never did like that armor." She said flinging the shard from her.

"We need to get you medical attention." John said turning to the image of Cortana. "Is there anything here that can help her?"

Cortana smirked. "I'm one step ahead of you." One of the tubes emptied and then the glass parted. "Just step in Ahce and I'll put the forerunners to work." Cortana said. Ahce moved into the tube. A moment later the tube started to fill with liquid. Ahce looked panicked for a moment as the tube filled. It wasn't the same clear liquid as before. This liquid was a light blue. It filled the tube and a series of cables descended. They connected to the elite and Ahce fell unconscious. The liquid became cloudy and the sangheili vanished from sight.

John turned to Cortana when he could no longer see Ahce. "What's going on?" John asked sounding a bit worried.

"don't worry Chief. I'm just treating her wounds and fixing her armor." Cortana assured him. "It will take a little while. You should make yourself comfortable." She advised.

John nodded and then collected Ahce's carbine. The Spartan looked around for a moment. "Cortana, where is her energy sword?" John asked a bit fearful that there might be another camouflaged griffin that he would have to fight on his own.

"Don't worry Chief. She has it with her." Cortana replied sounding very pleased.

"One soldier of out two man group is down, those creatures have more advanced armor then we thought, and you are happy?" He asked not understanding how the AI could be so pleased with the situation.

"Oh I'm just having fun." Cortant said simply. "There is so much to work with in this data base. I found some good weapons but we'll have to be a bit picky. Some of them are very large. I guess to use against large numbers of flood."

"Well back up the blueprints for those and we can have the ONI work on replicating them. The weapons we take now have to be light." John said taking up a position so that he could watch the door. If any more griffins appeared he couldn't afford for them to catch him off guard. The fight against the griffin had exhausted him. Their physical appearance was deceiving and they were actually very strong. They could certainly match sangheili in physical strength at the least. John would not let that fact catch him off guard next time. He only wished that he could warn the other soldiers of the facts that they had learned. He could only hope they wouldn't have to deal with them hand to hand like he and Ahce had.

End Chapter 15

A/N: Well there you go, action. Please r&r. I really appreciate those of you who have. I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as I make a final decision on an important fact for the next chapter. See you next chapter.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A/N:I don't own anything from halo or any of the RVB stuff.

Chapter 16

The phantom carrying the sangheili troops moved over the land of the planet on it's way to the forerunner structure. Aboard the vehicle only Ckej was calm. The other 7 soldiers were ether nervous, scared, or excited. Sibl, Erbl, and Inbl were scared and not afraid to show it. The teal soldier was visibly shaking in his armor. Rdbl, Sebl, and Ckbl were nervous. Though the only reason Sebl was nervous was because Rdbl was nervous. Onbl was the only soldier excited. She was trying to decide between a carbine and a plasma rifle. "Which one do you think I should bring?" She asked turning to the cobalt soldier beside her.

"I don't know. What do you think we are going to find?" Rdbl asked a bit angry. He had almost calmed himself down when she put the thought of combat back into his head.

"I don't know, probably loyalist." Onbl replied choosing not to pay attention to the anger in Rdbl's voice. "I guess a carbine would be better, as long as I bring plenty of ammunition. What are you going to bring?"

"First, you really didn't need to ask my opinion about that. Second, I'm bringing a plasma rifle. That way when I run out of battery I can just retreat." He said sounding a bit proud of his plan.

"I'm going to bring a fuel rod cannon." Sebl said happily.

"Like hell you are." Rdbl growled at the blue armored elite. "You aren't aloud around heavy fire arms. Remember what happened when we let you use the wraith?"

"Oh yes that was fun." Sebl said his nervousness completely forgotten.

"You destroyed our base." Rdbl said obviously angry about the incident.

"That's enough." Ckje interrupted. "Onbl, you are taking a carbine. Rdbl, you're taking the beam rifle. Everyone else is taking two plasma pistols." The fleet master ordered as he grabbed a pair of plasma rifles.

"Great choices sir." Ckbl said as if Ckje had just laid out the best battle plans ever.

"Kiss ass." Sibl muttered glaring at the maroon armored elite.

"We'll be at the location in approximately one minuet. Get your self's ready." Ckje ordered as he prepared his own weapons.

Rdbl retrieved his beam rifle and Sibl groaned. "Man, I never get the beam rifle." He complained.

"Quit you bitching Nancy." Rdbl snapped a bit smugly. The teal armored elite looked at him confused. "What? I heard a human say it to another human who was complaining. It seemed like a good time to use it." The cobalt elite explained.

The phantom slowed and descended to the ground. The 8 soldiers quickly exited the vehicle and moved into the near by forest. The trees here look liked weeping willows but with red bark and blue leaves.

"You know for once I don't feel like our colorful armor will make us stand out." Erbl remarked dryly.

"Well I think it could use a proper designer." Inbl said. "This dirt doesn't go with those trees. I have some lotion that would really help those threes with their dry skin." He said looking at the cracked and rough bark of the trees.

"It's bark Inble. It's supposed to look like that." Ckbl replied.

"We don't' know that." Inbl retorted. "That could be very dry skin on those trees. I wonder if they can hear understand us."

"They are trees. They can't hear or speak. There is no way they can understand." Ckbl said becoming agitated.

"The trees in Lord of the Rings could hear and speak." Inbl replied. "Maybe these trees are like those trees."

"That was a book not real life." Erbl said entering the conversation.

"Yeah, well scientology started as a book and it is true." Inbl argued.

"What? You've got to be kidding me." Ckbl said slightly disgusted.

"You know all that stuff is a scam right?" Erbl asked.

"It is not. It's all based off of fact." Inbl shot back not wanting to believe them.

"It's just a scam to get your money." Erbl said. "It's just those humans trying to control us."

"I hate to admit it but he is right. Some nuts took a sci-fi book and treated it as truth. It's nothing but a fad religion. The humans are just taking advantage of the fact that our religion was nothing but lies."

"By the rings, couldn't you have put that in a less insulting way?" Erbl asked

"The truth hurts." Ckbl shot back at the orange elite.

"By the forerunner what are they talking about?" Rdbl said confused.

"Potatoes." Sebl replied confidently.

Rdbl sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure they are talking about potatoes.'

"Alright everyone. Lets head to the structure." Ckje ordered loudly. The seven soldiers started off into the woods. They headed in the direction of a large metal structure. It consisted of an octagon base with four tall towers. Of course the troops still couldn't find their way there. Despite having the large towers to guide them. 6 of the 8 elites go lost on their way to the structure. Only Onbl and Ckje made it to the structure.

With Inbl, Erbl, and Ckbl

"How did we get lost?" Inbl asked.

"This is the last time I follow Erbl." Ckbl snapped.

"Hey I'm following Inbl." Erbl defended.

"But I'm following Ckbl." Inbl said confused.

"Oh my god, we are a crappy team." Erbl shouted. "Ckbl can't you use your ass kissing powers to find the closest CO?" He asked.

"Oh, oh, oh. I like that idea. Lets do that." Inbl said jumping on the bandwagon.

"I don't have kiss ass powers." Ckbl replied. The three started to argue amongst themselves, the task of finding the structure lost.

With Sibl, Sebl, and Rdbl

"I though you knew where you were going?" Rdbl growled at Sibl.

"How should I know where I'm going? I've never been here before." Sibl defended himself.

"Or maybe you have been here. What are you keeping from us?" Sebl asked.

"He's not keeping anything from us. He is just an idiot." Rdbl interrupted. "Lets just try to find out way to this place."

"I will lead us." Sebl said running off into the forest.

"He's going to get himself killed." Sibl said a bit amused.

"Lets go." Rdbl said running off after the blue armored elite.

"You're actually going to follow him?" Sibl asked. When he got no reply he ran off after the other two soldiers. Sibl and Rdbl ran after Sebl finding it hard to keep up with the enthusiastic elite. The were stunned though when they came out of the forest and found that they had reached the structure.

Sible and Rdbl made their way up a ramp on one side of the structure. "Now all we have to do is find the fleet master." Rdbl said looking around for the commanding elite. He did a double take when he spotted a black griffin. "By the arbiter." He shouted before turning and running while firing his weapon wildly in the general direction of the creature, though missing with each shot. Sibl turned when Rdbl shouted and spotted the griffin. He was soon following the cobalt armored elite's example. "Run, run, run, run, run." Rdbl shouted as the three soldiers ran into the forest.

The teal and cobalt elites ran past Sebl who seemed totally unaware of danger. "Did you kill something?" He asked as he watched the two other elites run.

"Yeah Sebl. We found and killed something. This is our victory lap." Sibl said sarcastically although still scared to death. Sebl gladly joined the others as they ran into the forest away from the base.

End chapter 16

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this very odd chapter. Please read and review. Goodbye until next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I don't own halo or any of the stuff from it.

Chapter 17

The team of Max, Ben, Omis, and Xece stood guard in the control room. It was more like the elites were standing guard while the two humans talked. They were leaning against the wall while the elites were crouched by the door. "I swear, war is so different form the movies." Max said bored.

"Yeah, it's not as glamorous as they make it look." Been replied with a light sigh." There is no glory on the battle field."

Those words caught the attention of Omis and she turned to growl at the humans. "Be quite you two. Just because you don't see the glory of fighting for what you believe in doesn't me it doesn't exist." The sangheili snapped.

Max could see that his friend was treading on thin ice. Sangheili were legendary in the value of their honor and he was questioning that. Sadly it seemed that Ben couldn't see these facts. "Where is the honor in killing others? Why does it make it okay to kill others?" He asked daring to stare down the elite.

"If it weren't for us the covenant would have used the halos and all would have died. Is that not worth fighting for? Is that not worth killing for?" She replied taking a step closer.

Ben shut his mouth for a moment knowing that he couldn't win that fight. He had to admit that it was logical for the deaths of the loyalists to out weigh the life of all that they would have killed if the halos had been used. That still didn't make it right in his eyes though. He couldn't understand why the elites were so willing to fight even if there were paths to peace. When he didn't reply Omis turned her attention back to the door and moved back into her crouched position. Ben turned away and looked toward the computers on the wall. He looked them over and then noticed a small blinking light. The symbol looked familiar to him but he couldn't place it. The marine moved his hand out to run them over the symbol as if touching it would tell him where he had seen it. As soon as his fingers touched the light it changed from the cool light blue to a burning red. He pulled his fingers back and looked at the symbol. Sirens started to blare from speakers above them and the room flooded with red light. The other three soldiers turned to Ben glaring.

"What did you do?" Max asked.

"I just touched the symbol. I didn't think it would do anything." Ben said defensively.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to touch symbols on forerunner planets? That's as stupid as clicking yes on one of those free virus scans for your computer. Nothing good ever happens." Max said with worry evident in his voice. The teams were split up and sirens were never good. Max's thought were cut off though by the appearance of a larger symbol on a part of the wall that was devoid of computers. The symbol glowed a crimson red that made it clear to all there was danger.

"Xece, do you recognize that mark?" Omis asked hoping he would say no.

The male elite sniffed the air and then took one of Omis' plasma pistols and aiming it toward the symbol. "Flood." He growled out keeping his eyes on the symbol. Through the years the sangheili had studied the forerunner symbols and made the education of them part of all soldiers basic training.

Max quickly readied his assault rifle. "It should only be infection forms right?" He asked trying to remember what he had been taught about the flood.

"It should be." Omis replied. "The combat forms deteriorate after some time though. They then become carrier forms. The problem is there may be pure forms." She said as the commando armored elite readied her plasma rifle.

"You two concentrate on the infection forms. We'll take care of any pure forms." Xece ordered quickly and calmly.

The other soldiers were a bit stunned. In the last year and a half they had never heard the male elite speak so many words in a row. They cleared their head and returned their attention to the glowing symbol. A crack appeared downt eh center of the wall cutting the symbol vertically. The wall slowly split revealing a hallway that no doubt lead to a larger room. The wall of the wall were covered in sickly flesh like sacks. Infection forms then started to crawl out of the opening like spiders in a horror film. The soldiers opened fire on the parasites and they popped like balloons. Plasma and bullets assaulted the infection forms but there seemed to be no end to them. One of the flesh like sacks popped sending infection forms flying all over. The team dispatched them quickly but they were immediately replaced by more. Max and Ben ejected spent clips from their rifles and they fell to the ground with a resounding clang.

"I'm almost out." Ben announced as he inserted his last clip of ammunition.

"Me too." Max announced as he fired at a group of infection forms that were clumped together. Several popped and took the others with them but the space was covered a moment later by more. "Is there no end to these things?" He asked sounding a bit desperate.

"I'm out of charge." Omis growled and Xece nodded as he dropped his own spent plasma rifle. As soon as the marines ran out of bullets they would be done for and over run by the flood.

Some larger flood forms started to appear out of the opening. "Stalkers." Xece said simply as he powered up his energy sword. The stalkers dropped to the ground and transformed into tank forms. Omis readied her own energy sword as the elites faced the large pure forms.

"I'm out." Ben shouted after firing the last of his ammunition.

"Me too." Max said a second later obviously frustrated with the turn of events.

Once the marines lowered their weapons Xece and Omis moved toward the lumbering tank forms. If they were going to die they would do it like worriers. The tank swung at Xece but he dodged the hit. It did come in contact with Omis and the strike sent her flying across the room and crashing into the wall knocking her out. Xece took his chance and sliced at the unprotected face. His sword cut through the tank form and the lifeless corps fell to the ground. The second tank moved forward and with one great swing its huge arm slammed into Xece's chest. The male elite was sent flying and slammed into the wall. His energy shield faded and fell unconscious. The tank started toward the fallen elites. It suddenly roared in anger and turned to fact the entrance of the room.

~Rezarun~

Rezarun stood with three of his wing leaders behind him in formation. Before them knelt a single griffin with its head bowed. The griffin's lion tail twitched in anticipation but he kept his starling head bowed. "Tarut." Rezarun began taking a step toward the knelt griffin. "You have completed your training and in that time you have proven yourself a competent leader. It is with pride that I promote you to squad leader. May you guide your troops with a clear head and strong heart." Rezarun said before placing a red helmet on Tarut's had. "Rise squad leader Tarut."

Tarut soot and straitened to his full height. "Thank you Commander. I will fulfill my duty to my fullest extent and forever up hold our holy laws." The newly promoted griffin said.

"I am sure you will." Rezarun said waving a claw and dismissing the squad leader. They were nothing but empty words that were mandatory. Tarut was a supporter of Rezarun's position. He knew that the new squad leader could be trusted to follow orders. There had been another soldier in Tarut's group that had been just as good of a leader but he would not deviate from the ancient laws at all. That would only slow down Rezarun's progress and wasn't going to let anything else get in his way.

The commander and wing leaders returned to the Rezarun's office once they were finished. Rezarun was just about to sit down at his desk when the whaling sound of sirens filled the air. That could only mean one thing. The plague had been released form one of the containment areas. "Where is that from?" Rezarun asked.

One of the wingleaders went to a near by computer. "The main control room." He announced.

Rezarun removed his weapon from his waist. "Lets get going." HE said before running off. The three wingleaders followed the commander as they heard toward the computer room.

They reached the room in no matter at all. They entered into the room to find one of the containment door open with infection forms crawling out. In one side there stood a tank form about to attack an object that was out of sight. As soon as the griffins reached the entrance they caught the tank form's attention. It let out a sound of anger and then began to run toward them. The four griffins opened fire and in a second the tank form fell. Once it was dead one of the wingleaders ran to one of the computers and started working. His talon hands moved over the controls tapping symbols. The other three continued to fire at the forms emerging from the open doors. After a minuet the doors started to shut cutting off the flow of infection forms.

Rezarun then turned his attention to what the tank form was attacking. On the ground lay Xece and Omis. He grabbed Xece with his foot but the elite was out cold.

"Sir, we found these two." One of the wingleaders announced as he brought Max and Ben forward. The two were scared and out of amo, helpless against the griffins. They didn't put up a fight as they were moved before the commander.

"What do we have here?" Rezarun said moving to look closely at the humans. They stared at him in fear and the griffin scoffed. "Bring them with us. Them as well." He said motioning to the unconscious sangheili.

The other wingleaders grabbed the elites and they returned to Rezarun's office. They made sure no one saw them before they reached the office. The wingleaders lay Xece and Omis to the side of the room while Ben and Max were moved before Rezarun's desk.

The humans looked around the rectangular room. There seemed to be nothing important about the room from its appearance. The walls were a dull silver and with a jet black floor. There was only one piece of furniture in the room and it was Rezarun's desk. The desk was a crescent moon shape. The commander sat down at his desk and looked at the two marines. He stared at them for a moment before speaking. "Why don't we get to know each other a bit." He said with a friendly smile.

Enc chapter 17

A/N: The next chapter will be up very soon. Please read then press that button down there and review.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I don't own halo or anything from it or anything from RVB. This is a sort of pointless chapter.

Chapter 18

"So do you think they'll come back?" Idda 'Bacos asked. The abnormally tall elite looked around the clearing. They had landed the dropship and been ordered to wait for Ckje and his soldiers to arrive for a pick up.

"Maybe something will eat them and we can leave." Icoh 'Rasuc said from his spot at the controls of the ship.

"We all know they are dead. If it weren't for their own cowardice they would have died long ago." Hyda 'Pacos joked as he walked toward the controls of the Phantom. "Let me drive. It's my turn." He demanded glaring at Icoh.

"I would but I don't think you are tall enough." Icoh retorted not willing to give up his spot.

"The halo I am." Hyda snapped as he tried to pull Icoh from the controls. Unfortunately Hyda was in reality very short for an elite and his efforts were in vain.

"Would you two stop fighting? How about I fly?" Idda said breaking up the two elites.

"You're too tall. You don't fit in the seat." Hyda pointed out.

"We'll call you if we need something on a high shelf." Icoh added with a light laugh.

"Hey, at least I'm aloud to carry a weapon." Idda snapped back.

"This ship has plasma turrets on it. That's better then any old plasma rifle." Icoh argued. "Right grunt?" He asked turning to Hyda for some back up. The short elite was staring out the rear hatch looking confused. "What is it?"

"Do you guys hear that?" Hyda asked. The three elites fell quiet to listen to the woods around them.

There was mostly quiet but an odd sound steadily grew louder and louder in the still natural surroundings. It became louder until the elites could make out words. "Is that someone shouting run?" Idda asked looking at the other two elites.

"It sounds like it to me. But who is shouting run?" Icoh asked.

"Oh flood, they're still alive." Hyda grumbled.

The three elites exited the ship looking around for the sound. "Maybe we can still leave and say they are dead." Icoh proposed.

Before the others could agree Sibl came running into the clearing very distraught. "Run, run, run, run." He shouted running into the ship. Sebl and Rdbl were not far behind but they stopped outside the ship.

"Did I win?" Sebl asked turning to the cobalt armored elite.

"Yeah, you won buddy. Your prize is you get to make Sible shut his mandibles." Rdbl said and watched as the blue armored elite went into the ship. It was soon followed by the sound of a weapon hitting the skull of a teal elite and the silence.

Sebl exited the ship and joined Rdbl. "That was fun. Can I do it again?"

"Wait until he deserves it. Then I'll let you do it again." Rdbl promised.

The teal elite then exited the ship to join them. "Not cool man." He grumbled clutching his head.

"What happened?" Idda asked. "Where are the rest of the troops?"

"I'm going to say dead dude." Sibl said casually. "Probably eaten by the monster."

"There's a monster?" Icoh asked confused.

"It was probably just an alien that lives on this planet." Rdbl corrected. He didn't bother to even acknowledge Sible make a comment about how they were the aliens. "Aw flood. We left Onbl behind."

"So what dude? She can take care of herself." Sibl replied.

"Yeah but we can't leave without her. She's part of our team." The cobalt elite shot back.

"So is Ckbl and Erbl, but you don't want to stay for them." Sibl pointed out.

"That's because they are annoying. I get enough of that from you two."

"Yeah well all she does is cause up bodily harm."

"No that's mostly just you. Sebl and I find it entertaining." Rdble replied with a slight smirk.

"It is my favorite pass time." Sebl chimed in.

"Well too bad man. I'm not staying for her." Sibl said.

"Well no one cares. I'm the leader of this team."

"No you're not. You're a minor like the rest of us." Sibl replied.

"Yeah but I have the beam rifle. That makes me better then you. I out rank Sebl because I can use full sentences so I'm the leader."

"Oh my gods. Shut your mandibles." Hyda growled tired of listening to the fighting elites. "First, the three of us are majors, we all outrank you. Second, is this all you do? How do you get anything done?"

"We don't get anything done. It's part of our charm, stop messing it up." Rdbl replied.

"Well we're not going anywhere. We have orders to wait for fleet master Ckje." Icoh said also fed up with the three minor elites.

"He's dead. The monster ate him." Sibl shouted loudly and slightly franticly.

"He deserves it." Rdbl said with a deep sigh. Sebl slammed his weapon into the teal elite's head.

"Still very fun." The blue elite shouted happily.

"We're all very excited for you, now be quiet." Rdbl said looking to the major elites. "So what are we going to do? Just wait here for them?"

"No, you're going to go find them." Idda said with a sangheili smile. "So why don't you and your blue friend grab the teal idiot and go find the fleet master." The tall elite ordered.

"I'm not grabbing anyone. I think we'll leave him here. Have fun dealing with him when he wakes up." Rdbl said before starting to walk away.

"You, blue soldier." Hyda said catching Sebl's attention. "Take him with you." The short elite ordered motioning to the teal elite. Sebl picked up Sibl without a word and ran off after Rdbl.

The blue elite soon caught up with the cobalt armored elite. "Wait for me best friend." He said panting.

Rdbl turned to Sebl and then spotted Sibl. "Why did you bring him?" He asked.

"Because the grunt asked me to." Sebl replied blissfully unaware.

Rdbl looked at him for a moment confused. He guessed he meant the short elite and decided to let it pass unquestioned. "Just drop him. Maybe he'll wander off and starve."

Sebl hesitated. "Are you sure I should? What if the fish come? They will make him into toast."

"There were so many things wrong there. I don't even know where to start." Rdbl said taking a moment to decide. "First, fish need water and there is no water here. Second, he's not bread so he can't be toast." Sebl still stared at him not sure what to do. "Just put him down." The blue elite finally dropped the teal elate with a dull thud. "Alright, let's go." Rdbl said before he and Sebl ran off toward the forerunner structure once again.

End chapter 18

A/N: I promise the next chapter won't be so pointless. Please read and comment.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Here is chapter 19. I don't own halo or anything from it.

Chapter 19

Rezarun leaned back in his chair taking a moment to digest the information he had been told. The two marines sat before him still looking as nervous as when the interview had began. "So there are more of you down here?" He asked.

"Yes, two more like us and three more like them." Ben replied motioning to the two elites.

The commander remained quiet with his eyes shut deep in thought. He opened his eyes slowly and a griffin smile cam to his face. "Well I see no reason for us to be enemies." The griffin said in a friendly tone. "Though I am sure the high council would not approve. I suggest that we just keep all of this to ourselves." He motioned to two of his wingleaders. "Since you say that your friends are in two groups each of you will go with one of my wingleaders to find them. I must go to the high council and report on the momentary release of the plague. They will wan their fears put to rest."

"What about them?" Max asked motioning to the two elites.

"I am sure they will come to soon. Wingleader Weron will watch over them and when they wake he will explain to them what happened." The commander explained as he stood up. "I must be off. The council does not like to be kept waiting." The griffin then left the office.

The two wingleaders turned to the marines. "Do you know where your friends would be?" Asked the hawk headed tiger legged griffin.

"Well one team went to the lab and the other went to the main generator." Max replied before turning to Ben. "I'll go to the lab, you go to the generator." Ben nodded and they turned to the griffins. "Do you know the places we are talking about?"

The hawk griffin nodded. "Yes we know these places. I will go with you to the lab. Surant will accompany your friend to the generator." Varun said before starting to walk off. Max was close behind him. Ben and Surant left soon after through a different hall.

~lab~

John leaned against the wall feeling what he guessed was boredom. Instead of the usual tension or sense of unease that he usually got when in unknown enemy territory he was surprisingly calm. The soothing hum of the computers seemed to dull the fear that came with the unknown. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of draining liquid. He turned to the tube that he had put Ahce in and noted the level of the liquid was dropping. He turned as an image of Cortana appeared near by. "Are we Set to go?" He asked.

"As soon as you grab the weaponries yes. I've finished the repairs to the major's armor and set out the lightest but most affective of the weapons." Cortana replied. "Not to mention the ones I think we can improve upon the most."

John nodded and turned back to the tube that was now fully drained. It split and the two haves began to retract into the ceiling and floor. In the center of the tube stood Ahce at her full height. John had forgotten how tall the sangheili were when they stood at full height. They usually fought hunched over and even then they were tall.

The armor itself was shinning silver decorated with pairs of cobalt blue stripes. There wasn't much changed about the over all look of the armor in general. The chest armor was the same except for a bit of armor that now covered the middle of the elite's chest. The fore arms were still covered by the same armor but now they were connected to gauntlets that protected the top of Ahce's hands. The leg armor looked just like the old armor with only the difference that the once rectangular protrusions of the upper leg armor were now angular. The shoulder guards bore a resemblance to the shoulder guards that the elites used before the sangheili left the covenant but without the sharp edges. A single flexible plate covered the sides and back of Ahce's neck, held in place by the black latex under skin that covered most of her exposed flesh. The helmet had been completely remade and the inspiration for it was obvious. The helmet resembled that of the Arbiter but without the decorations and the rear point went strait out behind the helmet rather then upward turn of the Arbiter's.

Ahce moved forward, her motions smooth and the armor moved perfectly with her. She held her hands out inspecting the armor. "So what do you think?" Cortana asked.

John watches as the elite turned her head and the armor on the back of her neck moved as well as not to limit her range of motions. "It is magnificent. It is no light and flexible." She commented as she tested the range of motion. She suddenly stopped and hunched over a bit like she usually would. Something must have gotten in the way of her movement part of the way because she stood only half as hunched as usual. "Though this will take some getting us to." She added.

"We can't waste any more time. Cortana, where are the weapons?" John asked deciding they had spent enough time in the lab.

A section of the wall separated and slipped down. A series of light griffin weapons lay on the surface. "Take your pick." Cortana remarked motioning in the direction of the weapons.

John and Ahce approached the table and looked over the selection. Ahce took a C shaped weapon that were roughly the size of a plasma pistol. The small gap at the end opposite Ahce's hand was connected by a small lens that was tented red. John took a weapon that resemble a shotgun with a blade on the top and bottom of the barrel. He flipped a switch and the weapon powered up and the blades glowed a faint red. He also grabbed a long spear weapon that with a push of a button retracted to a six inch long rod. He hooked it to his belt then looked to Ahce.

"Only taking one?" He asked noting that she made no more to take a second weapon.

"I still have my energy sword. That is the only other weapon I need against the flood." She said turning to Cortana. "Grab Cortana and lets get out of here."

John moved over to grab Cortana more then eager to get out of the lab. Just as he reached the data port the door to the lab slid open. Ahce and John turned to the door weapons glowing ready to fire. They stop though when they spotted Max and the wingleader.

End Chapter 19

A/N: Well there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. I actually have a picture of Ahce's armor and if you want to see it the picture will be up on my Deviantart shortly. Please read and comment. Feed back is appreciated.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I don't own Halo or any of the things from it. Hope you enjoy chapter 20.

Chapter 20

Xece came to, his head aching. For a second he wondered how many times he was going to be knocked out on this vial planet. He opened his eyes slowly. The first think he noticed was he wasn't in the control room. He glanced around the odd office until he spotted Omis and a griffin. Instinct kicked in and he moved to a sitting position. The griffin turned noticing Xece's movement. Xece let out a low growl and the griffin backed up. He put up his hands as if to show the elite he was unarmed.

Omis started to wake and the griffin backed up a bit more. The female elite moved slowly to crouch beside Xece. "Are you alright?" She asked. He nodded not taking his eyes off the griffin.

The duck headed snow leopard legged griffin moved to the side of the room opposite the elites. He wasn't about to take a chance that they might kill him. He knew he could take the humans but the elites were still very foreign to him. He wasn't about to risk his neck attacking something that might be stronger then him.

~Rezarun~

The commander stood before the holy council. He bowed respectfully t them. "Tell us commander, how did the plague get released?" Glory asked.

"It was an accident your holiness." Rezarun replied having worked out an acceptable lie that would cover up the humans and elites. "The guards who had been in charge of the room had been messing around. One of them seemed to have hit something releasing the plague." He explained.

"And has the plague been controlled again?" Loyalty inquired.

"Yes it is under control." He assured her. "I was meeting with my wingleaders at the time so we took care of it."

"And what of the guards who released the plague?" Glory asked.

"They were punished for their actions by the gods. The plague took them before we could save them. We had to destroy their infected bodies." The commander explained.

"Why were you meeting with your wingleaders?" Loyalty asked eyeing the commander with suspicion.

"I was checking in with the troops and appointing a new squad leader." Rezarun replied trying to ignore Loyalty's gaze. There was no way she could know if he was lying or not.

"Why did you need a new squad leader?" Loyalty asked folding her hands before her on the long desk.

"A new squad of soldiers graduated. They needed a leader." Rezarun explained simply.

"Who did you appoint?" Retribution asked.

"Tarut was appointed there squad leader." The commander replied. "He had good scores on his tests and I believe he had good instincts in battle." That was mostly the whole truth. Though the council didn't need to know all of his reasons.

"Very well then commander. You may go." Glory said dismissing the warrior griffin. Rezarun bowed once more before leaving the council room.

~Rezarun's office~

The griffin and elites sat opposite each other in uncomfortable silence. The elites and griffins were both to wary of the other to try to approach them.

One of the side doors slid open and all eyes turned to the entrance. Max walked in first followed by John. The griffin stood up eyeing the Spartan. He questioned whether or not he would be able to beat the Master Chief. In his opinion things had gone from bad to worse. Though he trusted the commander's opinion and would have to trust these creatures.

John was followed by Ahce with the wingleader Varun bringing up the rear. Xece and Omis stood in a flash but Ahce put up a hand signaling for them to stop. "They are friend not foe." She said calmly. Max had explained everything to them.

"Well most of us are. At least the smart ones." Varun muttered walking over to Weron.

Omis looked at the commanding elite. "What happened to your armor ma'am?" She asked.

"It was damaged so Cortana repaired and upgraded it." Ahce replied. "Are you two alright? I heard you ran into the flood."

"That we did ma'am. We exhausted our ammunition and were knocked out by tank forms." Omis reported. "We're alright though." Xece nodded in agreement.

"Good, we brought you weapons." The silver armored elite said handing each one of them a pistol like hers. "Ben is retrieving the others now. We will wait for their return. It shouldn't be long."

The main door opened to his office and Rezarun strolled into the room. He spotted Ahce and John and headed strait for them. "Ah, greetings my friends." The commander said in a friendly tone.

"This is major Ahce 'Sirut and Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117." Max said introducing the two.

The nodded respectfully to the griffin. "I am commander Rezarun." He said bowing to the two. "Welcome to my office. It is a pleasure to have you here."

"It is a pleasure to meet you commander. I hope you don't mind us having used your facilities." Ahce said bowing politely.

"I'm more worried about my brethren that you have killed. Four already dead because of you and your team."

"Six sir." Varun corrected. Rezarun looked at him a bit confused. "There were tow of the stealth spirits dead in the lab." He explained.

"Our apologies about that. They attacked u in the lab and we were oly trying to defend ourselves." Ahce explained.

Rezarun shook his head. "I do not blame you. It only proves that I was right not to make an enemy of you." The commander assured her. "It is no easy task to beat a stealth spirit. They are strong and will fight until dead in the name of our holy gods." The commander noted the bit of unease that filled the air. "What is wrong my friends?"

"Do you believe that your gods made this world?" Ahce asked fearing they would be s religiously blinded species like the elites had once been.

"Yes, they created all we know." Rezarun replied shaking his head. "Though I must admit I am not a great believer. Yes, they made us and our holy land but there is so much more. Our religion is to flawed and I find it more of a bond between brothers then something that I live by." The commander explained. "In fact I am moving forward despite the constraints of our laws. You see we are not aloud to leave this land but as we speadk a team under my orders is scouting above ground."

"I hope they don't meet up with our troops on the ground. They might mistake them for enemies." Omis commented.

Rezarun ahd but Ahce's fears to rest but Omis has brought up new ones. "It is most likely that the troops left when they couldn't find us. Their ship might still be in orbit though."

"They wouldn't leave if they found out this place had forerunner technology." John commented knowing that the sangheili hated the forerunner objects even more than humans. It represented the lies of their past and the mistake of their beliefs.

"What are these forerunners?" Rezarun asked his curiosity caught.

"It is the name of your gods. They are a long lost race that we believe died when they used a super weapon to destroy the flood. Though the flood still exists despite their attempt." She paused and then answered the unspoken question. "The flood is what you call the plague. Your kind were made by the forerunners to fight the flood."

Rezarun nodded. "So our religion is not all lies. It is just clouded by out dated laws." He said moving to sit at his desk. "Now we wait for Sarant to return with the last group. In the mean while please tell me of your race." Rezarun said motioning to the sangheili to take a seat.

End chapter 20

A/N: Well there is chapter 20. Please review after reading.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I don't own anything from halo or anything like that.

Chapter 21

Kada nodded her head and then turned her attention back to the hall. "It is very likely." She said snapping her mandibles in frustration. The topic the conversation they were having had fallen on a sore subject. "Sadly that is the way our world works." She added shaking her head. They were discussing what would probably happen after they were done on the world. They were pretty sure that they would give all of the credit to the Master Chief. The three females had nothing against the Spartan but the males of their forces would never believe that they had had any part in the events.

"Doesn't make is any less wrong." Saco said keeping her eyes on the end of the hallway that they'd come from. Without the males present they had not bothered to keep their remarks about the male leaders to themselves. It made for good therapy and good bonding for the three in the boring walk down the hall to the generator. The team was almost to the generator. Surprisingly there was very little security and all the halls they traveled were completely empty. It unsettled the elites though Amanda seemed calm.

"You known I just realized, we're doing this under Ahce's orders." Amanda said frowning.

"Of course we are. She is the highest ranking officer." Saco replied.

"No she isn't, the Master Chief is the highest ranked." Amanda pointed out. The two elites stopped causing Amanda, who was between them, to stop. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I just realized that we haven't been following the orders of the leader." Kada replied.

"Not to mention that the two top ranked soldiers went off together. If they die then who is our leader?" Saco said turning toward the other two.

The elites stayed quiet for a moment while they thought it over. "It would ether be Xece or you." Kada said pointing to Amanda.

"I'll let Xece have it. I'm tired of having Max and Ben under my command." Amanda commented. "Now can we get back to our task?"

"Yes ma'am." The elites replied returning to their positions and beginning to more again. Amanda smiled behind her faceplate. She was happy to have two soldiers under her command who would listen to her.

The trio came to a set of large doors that opened up into the generator's room. The elites moved to each side of the door while Amanda took up a position in the center of the hall with her shotgun at the ready. Kada hit the controls and the door slid open. The room was filled with three large generators and a control consol, beside that there was nothing. Amanda moved in and was followed closely by the elites.

"It's clear." Saco reported lowering her carbine. "I don't see why there is no security here." The stealth elite muttered.

"They probably never expected anything to make it this far or chose this as a target." Amanda reasoned before nodding to Kada. "Do your thing, Major." She ordered.

Kada moved to the consol and plugged in her data pad. She worked for a few minuets before turning to Amanda. "Would you like to send the message ma'am?"

Amanda shook her head. "Those aren't human troops up there. They'll listen to you more then me." She said.

"Yes ma'am." Kada said. Before she could even turn on her radio the doors to the room slid open on the opposite side of the room. They had originally disregarded the door due to a large amount of dust that had collected on the door. The elites and Sergeant snapped their guns up to aim at the door.

"Don't shoot." Ben's voice said as he stepped through the doorway. The soldiers lowered their weapons but rose them again as Surant appeared behind him. Ben put up his hands. "Don't shoot him. The griffins are our friends." He said. The soldiers lowered their weapons once more.

"You are going to tell us what is going on now Privet." Amanda ordered. Ben briefed them on what had happened. "Alright, Kada, send out that message but add in that the griffins are friends not foes." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." The elite replied. She then turned on her radio and connected it to the generator to boost the signal. "This is Major Kada 'Mihad form the ship _Hand in Hand. _We have found underground forerunner structures. Be advised that the griffin creatures are allies, repeat they are allies. We are retrieving weapons to fight the flood and then make our way above ground." She said hoping that the message would reach someone, although there was still the chance they had already left. "The message has been sent ma'am." Kada reported.

"Alright, then lets head out." Amanda said.

The half sea hawk half lion griffin stepped forward. "Do you mind if I contact my commander first. He can be sure that our troops do not attack yours."

"Go ahead." Amanda said.

Surant clicked on his radio. "Commander Rezarun, this is Wingleader Surant." He said.

~Rezarun's office~

"And in the time since the battle of the ark we have continued to fight the remaining members of the covenant. Our customs have also changed. We are now understanding of the concept of regaining honor and have changed some of our views on things that lose honor." Ahce said finishing her story.

Rezarun nodded his head. "Please give me some examples of changed customs.' He said eager to hear more. He liked the honor and pride that guided the sangheili in their lives.

"Well it is no longer a dishonor for blood to spill from our bodies. It is if the injury is from the sangheili's own hands. Killing ones self because of dishonor is no longer practiced among us. Some may be banished depending on the situation while the families are no longer punished for the dishonor of one." She explained.

Rezarun nodded again. "Might I ask about the role of females in your army?" She asked. He was curious about how similar the two species were.

Ahce huffed at the subject. "Female sangheili, like myself, are not common. We are usually not aloud in major battles no matter how skilled we are. Four of the soldiers on my team are female and more skilled then some of the male soldiers, but they will never see the glory that our male counter parts will." She said slamming her fist on the arm of the chair. The hit slightly bend the arm of the chair. "My apologies but it angers me that my troops are kept from the honor they deserve."

"Not a problem." Rezarun assured her. He shifted leaning toward her. "I did not realize you were female. You carry yourself with great honor and dignity." He said.

"That is because I have honor and dignity. Despite their rules I have fought in major conflicts. I even fought against the loyalists during the battle of the ark itself." She said proudly.

"I am glad to hear that you have been able to gain honor in a world that seems to now want you to have it. Sadly the same can not be said for our kind. Our females seem to be happy creating our weapons and armor rather then destroying our enemies. There have been some that have taken up arms but they make better strategist then soldiers." Rezarun said.

"As long as you keep your mind open." Ahce said nodding to the commander.

Before Rezarun could reply a speaker on his desk came to life. "Commander Rezarun, this is Wingleader Surant." A voice said.

Rezarun pressed a button. "Go ahead Wingleader." He said.

"Sir, I've found the team. The have sent out a message to their troops above ground not to attack our kind." He reported.

"Very good, head back to my office now. We will proceed form there." Rezarun ordered.

"As you command sir." The Wingleader replied. The radio then fell dead.

Rezarun then turned back to Ahce. "Do tell me more about this battle of the ark."

End chapter 21

A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed. I had to put in the part about the elite's changing their customs after reading Cole Protocol. Please read and review.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Well here is chapter 22. I don't own anything from Halo. If I did I would create a project to make elites real.

Chapter 22

The doors of the elevator slid open and the special operations griffins slid silently out hugging the wall. Etsul scanned the hallway that the elevator had opened into. He motioned to his subcommander, Aedum. Aedum moved to the control panel of the elevator and hooked up a device. It would allow the special ops team to communicate with commander Rezarun. It would use the system of the elevator to allow the signal of their radios to work even though there were layers of metal and dirt between them and the holy ground.

The team then set off down the hallway. Etsul sent one of his newer soldiers forward down the hall to scout out the area. He didn't expect to find anything so he trusted the soldier to scout the area. He wasn't expecting the soldier to return a few minutes later with a confused look. "What is it soldier?" Etsul asked.

"There were some odd creatures out there sir." The soldier replied.

"What kind of creature?" Etsul asked.

"They were crouching, but I would have to say that at full height they would probably be as tall as any of us. They had long necks and their jaws were split into four parts. They had four fingers on each hand and wore armor." The soldier reported. "I don't think they are dangerous. As soon as they saw me they ran away."

Etsul nodded to the soldier pleased. For the short amount of time that he saw the creature he had gotten a good description. "Well done, Etsul. From here on we move slowly, keep your eyes open." He ordered. The team moved out into the open. Etsul was glad that they had their visors to filter the light from above. He had never realized that there could be so much light. The visor filtered out enough of the light to make it visible for the eyes of the griffins.

They spread out over the structure. "Sir, I found it." A soldier said over the radio.

Etsul moved to the soldier's position. It was the same one that had found the creature the firs time. In front of the rookies stood Sebl happily.

~Rdbl and Sibl~

Rdbl and Sibl walked up a ramp on the side of the forerunner structure. At the top stood Onbl and Ckje, waiting for the troops. "Finally, it is about time." Ckje snapped when he spotted the two elites. "Where are the others?" He asked.

"We sent Sebl around back to be sure that the monster was gone." Sibl answered.

"What monster are you talking about?' Onbl asked.

"It looked like one of those griffin creatures I read about." Rdbl explalined. "We found it at the back of this structure. I say we just assume that Sebl has been eaten by it."

"What about the others?" Ckje asked becoming impatient.

"Oh, we have no idea." Sibl answered. "We got split away from them."

"Yeah, I saw we count them as dead as well and just go home. Tell them that we couldn't find anything." Rdbl said moving to stand beside Onble and away from Ckje who was only getting more agitated.

"Fool, there may still be technology here, or the flood. No griffin creature will stand in our way." The fleet master snapped.

Ckje was going to continue scolding the cobalt elite but his radio cracked to life and a voice filtered through. Kada's message played and the elites stood in silence. "Shards, that means that Sebl is probably still alive." Sibl commented.

"And here I though we had some good luck." Rdbl added with a sigh.

"Is that all you got form that message?" Onbl asked.

"What did you want us to get from it?" Sibl asked confused.

"How about that the crew is alive, or maybe that they have weapons to fight the flood with, or more importantly that the griffins are allies?" Onbl growled at the teal elite.

"Well we got that, it is just that we think the fact that Sebl is alive is more important." Rdbl pointed out.

"Since when do you care about your team mates. What about Inbl, Ckbl, and Erbl?" Onbl asked the two other minor elites.

"Not really, we are more worried that he is still alive." Sibl replied.

Ckje shook his head. He could not understand how he had gotten stuck with these troops.

~with Sebl~

"What information have you gotten from it?" Etsul asked as Aedum approached him.

"His name is Sebl, his best friend is Rdbl, and he is here looking for others of his species." Aedum reported. "Beside that he just asked me a ton of stupid questions."

"I shall report this to the commander." Etsul said before walking down the hall to the elevator they had taken to the surface. He switched on his radio. "Commander Rezarun, this is stealth commander Etsul, do you read me?"

He was rewarded when the voice of the commander griffin came though the radio. "I read you loud and clear stealth commander." Rezarun said. "What is your status?"

"Sir, we have gotten above ground. We found an odd creature who goes by the name Sebl." Etsul reported.

"Is it about as tall as us, have a jaw that is split in four, and four fingers?" Rezarun asked.

Etsul was surprised at the commander's words. "Yes sir, how did you know?" He asked not bothering to hide his surprise.

"Well I had a little run in with a few of their kind." The commander replied. "You are not to harm him. They are called elites and they are on our side. In fact they seem to have been like us at one time." He ordered. "The others of their kind already know not to harm you."

"Very well then sir. How would you like for us to proceed?" Etsul asked.

"Cautiously, my friend. We don't want the council to find out about them." Rezarun replied. "Make contact with the rest of their troops. The elites with me, the wingleaders, and I are going to start some trouble. "The smile on Rezarun's face was audible. "Once you've met up with the other elites then stand by for further orders."

"Under stood sir, Etsul out." Etsul said before turning off his radio. He turned and stared down the hallway to his troops. He would met with these elites and prepare for whatever the commander may ask of him.

End of chapter 22

A/N: The next one will be longer, I promise. I just wanted to clear up what was going on with the other teams. Please read and review, it means a lot. Thank you.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Well there is chapter 23. I don't own Halo or anything from it.

Chapter 23

"I'm really liking this plan." Omis commented as she, Kada, and John made their way down one of the old unused hallways.

"You only like it because of the new toy they gave you." Kada replied motioning to the grav hammer that was over Omis' back.

"Your point?" Omis asked. The three soldiers were on their way to the main database of the griffon's city. From there Cortana would be able to access all the records with no obstacles. It would also allow her to control most of the city's systems.

The unused halls were dark and visibly dirty. The team passed doors that were rusted shut. From what they'd been told the area had only been out of use for a few decades, though there was talk of repairing it to relieve crowding. "This is the door." Cortana instructed as John stopped in front of a set of double doors. "The mechanism is broken so you'll have to pull them open manually."

"Not a problem." Omis said as she removed the grav hammer from her back.

"That might be a bit much." Cortana commented as John stepped back to allow Omis access to the doors.

The elite slammed the butt of the hammer against one of the doors causing it to bend in toward the other room. Omis then put the hammer back across her back. "I just need a handle." She said before grabbing the unbent door with both hands. She steadied herself and then pulled the door open. The loud screech of the rusty metal scraped as it opened reverberated through the empty halls. Omis then moved aside to allow John to retake the lead.

The Spartan lead the way down the dark hallway. It opened up into a room that was almost identical to that of the silent cartographer. The difference was the walls of this room glowed faintly with a pattern that resembled a large circuit board. When John's foot came in contact with the walkway a series of lights appeared along it all the way to the main console. They walked along the walkway silently stunned by the gentle blue glow that surrounded them. John moved to the console while Kada and Omis took up guard positions. They watched the entrance that was opposite the way they came. It was not used often but there was always a chance.

John inserted Cortana into the console. Her avatar appeared, glowing the same faint blue as the rest of the room. "Rezarun was right, there's absolutely no protection of their systems from here."

"Contact Commander Rezarun and inform him that phase one is complete." John instructed.

"You got it chief. I've even locked the doors to this room so we won't have to worry about being stopped." Cortana replied as she went to work.

~Rezarun's office~

"Are you all clear on the next phase of the plan?" Rezarun asked. The soldiers nodded. "Good, then as soon as we get the word from team one then we can proceed." He said looking down as a small light on his desk flashed. The commander held up a hand for complete silence before pressing a button to turn on the radio on his desk. "Yes, what is it?"

"Phase one is complete." Cortana said through the speaker.

"Excelent, wait there for further instructions." Rezarun ordered. He then turned off the radio and turned to the soldiers. "You know what to do. Cortana is in place now. Contact her directly if you need any help." He was about to continue his instruction when the light on his desk flashed again. "What is it?" He asked after turning the radio back on.

"Sir, something is wrong." A voice said sounding worried.

"What do you mean Tarut?" Rezarun asked recognizing the squad leader's voice.

"Subcommander Artom and the holy stealth spirits are on their way to your office." Tarut replied. "I though you should know."

"Thank you squad leader, I will handle it." Rezarun said turning the radio off once again. He turend to the elites and humans. "You need to hide. Artom is no friend of ours." The commander said walking over to the wall behind his desk. He tapped a button that would have been impossible to find if he had not known its location. A section of the wall slid back reveling five small bracelets. 'Take these; they will alloy you to hide anywhere." He said passing them out to the three humans, Saco, and Xece. They all attached them to their left wrists. Xece looked over the bracelet finally hitting a small button. The device activated and the elite disappeared as the active camouflage covered him. "These would usually only be used by the stealth spirits but I don't think they will miss them. Yours already has one built in." He added looking to Ahce. The soldiers activated their camouflage and also disappeared. They moved to the side of the room where they would be out of the way while Rezarun took a seat at this desk with the three wingleaders in line before him. The main door of the office slid open to revel Artom and the stealth spirits.

Ahce took a moment to marvel at the beauty of the stealth spirits. These were different form the ones she had met in the lab. All five of the stealth spirits were the same. They were all half dove, half snow leopard. They wore glistening white armor decorated with symbols that were a light green. They set an odd contrast with Artom at the lead. The subcommander stood out like a speck of dirt against the white of the holy stealth spirits.

"Subcommander, what brings you and the holy stealth spirits to be in my presence?" Rezarun asked acting unfazed by the sight before him.

"Commander, it has come to the attention of the council that you have broken several of the holy laws." Artom replied staring at the commander passively.

"And what brings you to believe this. I live to serve our laws." Rezarun replied sounding a bit offended.

"You have sent a team outside of the holy grounds. You have damned their souls forever. How is that not breaking our laws?" Artom shot back glaring at Rezarun.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I have done no such thing." The commander replied. He knew that he had sent the team but he was more referring to damning their souls. There was nothing wrong with what they had done.

"Do not deny it Rezarun. The council has been watching you. You have gone awol and no longer need their words. The will of the council is the will of the gods." Artom said moving toward the commander's desk.

"The will of the council is blind, like you are now. You can not see that our people are in danger. There is only so much room in the holy ground and we have used almost all of it." Rezarun argued. "You blatantly ignored the issue. It cannot be pushed aside forever."

"When the time comes the council will deal with it. We are only in charge of the defense of our people, nothing else." Artom replied visibly become angered.

"It is our duty to do what is best for our people." Rezarun replied sighing in disappointment. "You once understood that. Back when you were a good loyal friend and I made you subcommander. The you back then would have seen the truth. What happened to him?" Rezarun asked sorrowfully.

"That person died. He died when I learned the truth. The truth that you are a heretic that would break the laws of swore to protect." Artom replied. "I'm here to arrest you under the orders of the council." He said as he started to walk around the commander's desk.

Rezarun looked crestfallen. "I will miss him. He was a good loyal friend." Rezarun said allowing Artom to handcuff him. "It is unfortunate but things have been set in motion that can not be stopped." He said before Artom lead him away.

The soldiers waited a few minuets after Artom lead Rezarun out of the office before they deactivated their camouflage. "Well now we have a problem." Amanda muttered turning to Ahce.

The elite turned to the sergeant with a look of determination. "There is no problem that we cannot overcome." She stated simply.

~End chapter 23~

A/N: There is chapter 23. I hope you enjoyed it.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"We agree?" Ahce asked and Amanda nodded. "Then there is no more time to waste." The elite said turning to the other soldiers. "Xece, Max, you are with me." She said before activating her camouflage. The others followed her example and the three moved out of the room. Amanda's team would leave a few minuets after them. The three soldiers moved silently and swiftly down the halls avoiding notice of the griffins that wandered the hallways.

Ahce's radio flared to life and Cortana's voice filtered out. "Ahce, this is Cortana. We need an update." She said.

Ahce halted her team before replying. "This is Ahce, we've sort of hit a snag in out plans." She replied unhappily. "Rezarun has been arrested on some sort of treason charges. We've had to change the plan a bit. Xece, Max, and I are going through with the original plan. Saco, Ben, and Amanda are going to free Rezarun from his prison." She explained.

"Will three of you be able to pull it off?" John's voice said over the radio.

"I am confident that we can. Not as confident that we will be able to handle the griffins that will be able to handle the griffins that will be coming once we are done." Ahce replied.

"I might be able to help you with that." Cortana said. "I hat to take advantage of their religion but it is necessary to insure out plan works." The AI said a bit reluctantly. "When they come tell them that you have come to free them; that the gods sent you." She instructed.

"What are you going to do?" Ahce asked confused.

"Their entire religion is based off of files in this system. All I have to do is add in a file that will serve our purpose. Tell them that your name is the key. I'll set it as the password to the files." Cortana explained.

"Understood." Ahce replied before turning off her radio. She couldn't risk it giving away their position and make their camouflage useless.

~Team 2~

Amanda crawled though the tight space on her stomach. The action reminded her of her time in training camp. She couldn't believe she had complained about how useless crawling under barbed wire was. She would never complain about anything they had been forced to do in the obstacle course again. With her luck the next thing she would have to do would be climb up a wall or run though tires. She looked ahead of her at the struggling form of Saco ahead of her. The elite was not built to crawl though the tight space but she wasn't about to speak up. The elite was moving slowly and silently. She didn't want to give any indication of their presence.

The elite stopped and slid back a small cover slowly. She looked down into the hallway below and then looked back at Amanda. She nodded and it was just barely visible in the dark. Saco maneuvered a bit past the opening and then with surprising skill slipped out through the opening. There was no sound of the elite landing on the ground below. Amanda moved forward in the space and slipped through the opening. She wasn't as quiet hitting the ground with a slight thud but still on her feet. The griffin guard before her turned at the sound though not seeing anything. Amanda held her breath and stood completely still as she waited to see if she would be spotted. The griffins looked at each other and shrugged letting the noise go explained. The two soldiers moved slowly as they moved toward the guards. Amanda smacked the butt of her shotgun into the back of the griffin's head while Saco used only her fist. The guards fell to the ground in lifeless heaps.

Rezarun stood up surprised as the guards feel to the ground. He was more surprised as the two soldiers deactivated their camouflage. "What are you doing here?" He asked confused.

Amanda hit the controls releasing the barrier to the cell. "We are here to free you from your cell." She replied simply.

"You should be completing the plan." Rezarun said glaring at the elite and human. Ben dropped down from the ceiling ungracefully falling and hitting the ground hard.

"Ahce is seeing to that." Amanda replied.

"You must be crazy. If these two are here then there are only three to complete the plan. That is not enough to do the job." He complained.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Amanda said. "Just leave it to them. We need to concentrate on getting back to your office." The marine said with a deep breath. "Now that is going to be an interesting trip."

~end Chapter 24~

A/N: There is chapter 24. I'm sorry for the wait; I didn't realize that I hadn't posted this here yet. Chapter 25 will be up in a minute.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Ahce's team held perfectly still as a pair of young griffins passed them. They were almost to their destination but the seemingly endless traffic was slowing them down. "This is taking to long." She growled once the griffins were far enough away. Xece placed a calming hand on the other elite's shoulder and she glanced back at him. Ahce sighed looking back at the invisible elite not caring that she couldn't actually see him. "You're right. I am just not a patient being." She said, all anger gone from her voice.

"I not a patient person ether. Luckily my want to not get caught and thus punched by my CO forces me to be patient." Max commented.

"You're a sniper; you're supposed to be patient. It's half the job." Ahce said as she began to move forward slowly.

"That would be true if I was a trained sniper, which I'm not." Max replied following the two elites. "I'm not like Xece. I'm not calm, silent, or awesomely kick ass. I'm just a good shot."

"Remind me to have Xece teach you a thing or two about sniping when we get off this planet." Ahce replied.

"Don't you mean if? The chances of us not dying on this mission are slim to none." Max corrected. "Three soldiers, no matter how good, can't beat an army alone."

"Cortana said she would handle that." Ahce assured him. "Now quiet, we're almost there. If there are guards, Xece take out the closest one, I'll take out the other one." Ahce ordered retrieving her energy sword. Xece followed suit leaving Max to feel out of place without a melee weapon.

"When is the UNSC going to make its own melee weapon?" He muttered.

The three soldiers slowed their movements. If there were any guards ahead they were sure to notice any movement. They moved in single file along the twisting hallways. There was a sudden drop off in foot traffic and the few who did pass the team wore flowing robes of bright elegant colors. Like a switch on a light the hallways became brighter and more decorated. Flags that were dyed a rich primary color and adorned with dark colored symbols hung from the walls around them. Ahce didn't need to look at them to know that the symbols were forerunner. It almost pained her to see another species worshipping the ancient race. It was only luck that this world had no connection to the Halos. The Covenant had obviously not found them until after the war, and for that she was glad. They would have been wonderful brothers in combat during the Great War but she was glad they had not been dragged into it. The humans never would have survived, and who knows, maybe the Master Chief would have failed in his destruction of the first Halo.

Ahce stopped suddenly when she spotted a pair of guards ahead of them. They stood outside the objective just as she had suspected they would. They were like statues standing guard over the entrance, the only proof they were alive was the slight movement from breathing. Ahce and Xece moved forward slowly being careful not to be seen. Ahce moved a bit out into the hallway readying to strike. "Now." She shouted and the two elites sprang forward.

Xece slashed forward cutting through the guard's spear. The second strike slit the guard's throat and it fell to the ground as life slipped form its body. Ahce's blade struck out twice like lightening cutting into the guard's chest in an X pattern. The dead guards lay on the floor and it wouldn't be long before someone noticed. "Open the door." Ahce ordered. Max moved forward tapping the controls. The large ornamental doors slid back. Cortana had unlocked all the doors on their rout. The three soldiers slipped through the door, closing it behind them. They deactivated their camouflage so they would be able to give nonverbal signals to each other.

The room they now stood in resembled a classic study. There was a soft light to one side of the room that released heat into the room. A set of chairs and a couch were arranged around the light with a short table in the center. The walls were a darker gray then the hallways while the chairs were a faded crimson. Ahce motioned toward the chairs and they moved forward behind the couch. Xece moved to the side of the couch and scanned around checking the seats. He moved back quickly to join the others. Xece held up one finger then pointed to a spot on the back of the couch.

Ahce nodded and shifted her energy sword to be pointing at the back of the couch. She moved, drawing her sword back and then stabbing forward though the couch. The fabric burned as the blade ripped though it. A pair of brown wings rose above the back of the couch as a frantic squawk of pain escaped the griffin's mouth. Ahce cursed under her breath. The griffin she had just killed wasn't a part of the council. It had only been a young servant who had fallen asleep where he didn't belong. Ahce pulled back removing her blade from the dead servant. There was no doubt that the council would have heard the sound. Ahce turned to order the others to find cover when something white and feathery slammed into her.

~team 1~

Kada and Omis sat side by side starring at the glowing lines around them. "I feel like we got the short end of the stick." Kada commented.

"How so?" Omis asked a bit surprised at her friend's use of a human phrase.

"Well we have to sit around doing nothing. The others are off gaining honor and we're just sitting here." Kada replied. Omis grunted a reply not knowing what to say. "How about we play a game?"

"We're in the middle of a complicated plan. Ahce would skin us for that kind of breech of protocol." Omis replied. "Beside, this isn't that bad."

"You're only saying that because they gave you a grav hammer." Kada pointed out.

Omis shook her head. "Hey Chief, how about letting Kada take that consol apart so she'll stop complaining."

Kada bumped against Omis with a bit of force. "I am not complaining." Kada shot back. A sudden look of confusion crossed her face. "Are we bickering?" She asked.

"I think we are." Omis replied.

"We've spent too much time with humans." Kada said as Omis nodded her head.

~end chapter 25~


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Max raised his rifle to aim at the white griffin whom had Ahce pinned to the ground. He couldn't get a clear enough shot that would only hit the griffin and not the elite. He as suddenly grabbed form behind by another griffin. The marine slammed the butt of his gun into the griffin's stomach and it hit. The white griffins must not have been wearing energy shields leaving them vulnerable. It released its hold on the soldier for a moment and Max turned. Retribution struck out grabbing Max's left shoulder and the barrel of the sniper rifle pushing it up. Max tried to pull himself free as the griffin's claws broke though his energy shield and started to dig into the marine's shoulder. Max screamed as the sharp claws tore though his skin.

The griffin removed his claws as the fist of Xece slammed into the side of the griffin's head. It stepped back and the elite slammed his beam rifle into the griffin's chest. Retribution took a step back then struck out at Xece. A shot rang out as Max fired. The round ripped through the griffin's head splattering the walls with red. The body fell to the ground with a wet thud. Xece turned toward Max to check his injury.

"Look out." Max warned grabbing the elite and pushing him to the ground. A shot of energy passed over head. They turned to find Glory aiming his pistol at them. The griffin fired again and the two soldiers moved to take cover behind one of the chairs. Max raised his rifle to aim but his shoulder was too damaged for him to be able to steady it. He sat behind the chair griping his injured shoulder in an attempt to stop the blood.

Xece peeked around the chair fiering over. The shot hit the griffin's hand sending the pistol to the ground. Glory cried out in anger and ran forward. He jumped onto the chair causing it to crash forward. Xece and Max rolled out of the way as the chair and griffin came crashing down. In a fluid motion Xece drew his energy sword and moved forward. He caught Glory just as the griffin was turning to face him. The blade cut vertically along the griffin's right side. Blood sprayed forth as Glory fell back dead. Xece moved toward Max motioning to the marine's shoulder.

"I'm fine, or at least I will be until we find Ben." Max said trying to move his arm. The limb didn't move and he decided to leave it until Ben could look at it. "By the way, nice shot back there."

Ahce struggled trying to keep Loyalty from lodging her beak into her neck. The female griffin was surprisingly strong and had a strong grip on Ahce's arms. The elite threw her head forward slamming it into the griffin. While the enemy was still stunned Ahce shifted to try to roll over so she would have the griffin pinned. She managed to get them onto their side and moved back from Loyalty. A clawed hand struck out and Ahce felt the claws break though her energy shield and scratch at her bare flesh. The elite moved away running to grab the energy sword that had been dropped when the griffin had first attacked her. The black blade came to life just as Loyalty's hand grabbed the sword wielding arm. Ahce roared in anger reaching out and grabbing the griffin's wing and squeezing. "As I remember this hurts." She said jerking the wing to snap it.

Loyalty cried out in pain and her free hand struck out striking Ahce's left side. Ahe raised her right arm to keep the griffin from using her beak to strike anywhere. The elite struck forward hitting the griffin in the chest with her elbow. She then reached down to switch the hand her sword was in. As soon as she had the blade in both hands she was surprised to find that it split in half. The two parts both made their own blade. Ahce would have to remember to thank Cortana for the upgrade of the weapon. She struck out cutting the griffin's hand off causing it to lose its grip on her arm. The elite struck out with her two blades cutting Loyalty to pieces and soaking her armor in blood.

"We need to get moving." Ahce said walking up to the other soldiers. Blood dripped from her side and shoulder as she moved toward them. "We don't want to be here when the back up arrives." Xece took a step toward the sliver armored elite and she motioned for him to stop. "I'm fine; we have no time to stand around." She said looking forward to getting moving and out of danger.

"Correction, you have no time." Artom said causing the soldiers to turn to him. The sub-commander stood with his team of holy spirits, weapons at the ready.

"Now what?" Max asked.

"Now we trust in Cortana having done her part." Ahce whispered back. She reconnected her blades into one and replaced it on her side before stepping toward Artom to get his attention. "We have come been sent here by your gods to free you." She said.

Artom laughed. "Free us, from what?" The griffin asked skeptically.

"From the chains of the old ways that will lead you all down a dark path." Ahce replied confidently as though she had actually been sent by a god.

"And what proof do you have of your claim?" Artom asked still not believing the elite.

"Our coming has been written by your own gods." Ahce replied. "They are locked away and can only be revealed by my name."

"We will see." Artom said. "We will make a trip to the great alter." Artom said motioning to the holy spirits. The stealth griffins moved forward and surrounded the elites and marine. They didn't resist as the griffins began to lead them out of the study.

~team 2~

A door slid back and the four figures entered the long hallways. "Where are we?" Amanda asked as she turned to Rezarun.

"We are in the room of the great alter. It is pure heresy to be here." The commander said looking around nervously.

"I think heresy is the least of our concerns." Ben said looking around in wonder. The hallways were connected to another to make a cross shape. The soldiers stood at the left arm of the cross. The blue symbols on the wall filled the hallways with a soft baby blue light.

"I've never seen symbols this elegant." Saco said looking over the walls. The symbols were thing and bright against the light gray around them. "What do they mean?"

"It means that this is the holiest of the holy lands. Only the highest of priest and the holy council are allowed here." Rezarun replied. They made their way down the hallway to where it connected with the other hallway. There was only a simple access panel on a round three food tall cylinder in the center of the joined space.

"That's all it is? How is that a great alter?" Ben asked looking at the panel.

"That is where the priests access all of the records left behind by our gods." Rezarun explained. "This is where the high priest and holy council come when a question concerning our laws coming to them." He then pointed to the split off hallway that would be the top of the cross." Through there is where team one is."

Amanda moved toward the indicated door. She flipped on her radio and made contact with Cortana. "Hey Cortana, can you open the door to the room you're in?" She asked.

"I can." Cortana replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Let me rephrase that, please open the door that leads to the room you are in." Amanda said. The door slid open and Amanda found herself as the target of the two elites. "You could have warned them." She said putting up her hands in surrender.

The elites lowered their weapons realizing there was no real threat. "I could have but where would the fun be in that?" Cortana replied smugly.

"Can the sarcasm before I decide to report to the higher ups that you're rampant." Amanda threatened. "Now that we've regrouped we can get a handle on the situation."

"Well you better get a handle on fast. Artom is escorting team three to the room that you are in." Cortana informed them.

"Then they must have failed in their mission. Artom can not set food in this place so he must have the holy council with him." Rezarun said before moving out of the great alter and into the other room.

"That is impossible." Omis stated. "Ahce and Xece would die before failing a mission." The elite stated. "if they are being escorted here then they must have succeeded."

"Artom lives for our laws. He would never break them." Rezarun declared.

"Eather way you'll want to get out of that room." Cortana informed them. The soldier moved out of the great alter and into the other room.

"We haven't had contact from Ahce. It is possible they failed." Rezarun said as they walked to join John.

"And I am telling you it is not." Kada retorted.

"Can you just settle this for us?" Amanda asked Cortana. She didn't want to listen to any more arguing.

"They succeeded in their mission. All three of the council members are dead. I don't know why Artom is willing to break the rule though." The AI replied.

"Cortana, can you get us eyes on them?" John asked.

"I'm on it." Cortana replied. A moment later the screen lit up with the image of team three and the holy spirits with Artom at the lead.

~end chapter 26~


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: I don't own anything from Halo.

Chapter 27

The doors to the great alter slid open allowing the blue light to leak out into the dim hallway. The sub commander stepped forward into the light while the holy spirits stood still. Artom stopped looking back at the spirits. "What is it?" He asked.

"Sir, we are not holy enough to set foot on this ground." One of the spirits said. "Should we not get a high priest to check the text for us?"

"We don not have time to look for a priest. The council is dead and these creatures claim to be holy. There is no time to wasted waiting. The gods will have to forgive us." Artom replied.

"Very well sir." The spirit said before they moved hesitantly forward. The elites and humans remained in the center of the griffins as they moved into the smaller hallway. The white griffin's nervousness was still visible but less obvious then before.

They walked down the hallway to the cylinder in the center of the room. Ahce fought the urge to make a sarcastic remark about how the alter was not so great. Angering the sub commander was a move not even she would make in this situation. Artom approached the cylinder and paused as though he didn't know what to do. He turned and pointed at Ahce. "You, heretic or whatever you think you are, come show me where your arrival is written." He ordered.

The elite moved forward pushing past the spirits. He moved beside Artom examining the cylinder before her. It looked to be a basic forerunner access panel. It was similar enough to the elite's access panels that she was sure she could manage to find what she needed. She tapped the button and activated the systems. They stood in amazement as the symbols that adorned the walls peeled away from the walls and drifted toward the space above the cylinder to join together to make a single panel covered in slightly darker symbols. Ahce looked back to the controls before her. After a moment of studying is she got to work. She keyed a sequence of symbols and the panels above them changed. The panels split into fourths and lined up. Ahce tapped a few more symbols and the panels split in half. The eight panels slid into one line before her. She scrolled through the panels until she found the one she wanted. The other seven panels broke apart into a shower of small sky blue symbols that hung in the air like falling snowflakes frozen in time. The remaining panel filled with lines of text. "Simple." Ahce said smugly to Artom.

The griffin pushed her aside to read the text. "I can't read this." Artom snapped turning to Ahce.

"That is because I haven't entered the password. It is not translated in this form." Ahce shot back. She moved back to the controls and entered in her name. The symbols on the large panel changed and shifted. "Now you can read it."

Artom moved forward again pushing Ahce back to the others. He read over the text and then turned to the others. "This proves nothing." He declared.

"Lies, it proves we are not your enemies." Ahce snapped taking a step forward. "You lie as to the word of your gods. That is blasphemy."

"Quiet vile heretic." Artom commanded moving forward. His hand shot out grabbing the elite's throat.

The holy spirit's commander moved forward and read over the text. "You lie sir. This says that they are holy warriors as they claim. That they were sent here to cleanse us of our tainted leaders." The commander said.

Artom turned to him. "Do you really think that our people will accept that explanation?"

"They must, it is the word of our gods." The commander replied.

"Our holy council is dead; they will not let it go unpunished. We will omit the part about them being holy when we inform the public. We will execute them publicly for their crime. I will then lead our people in finding a new council, one that would have stopped heretics like Rezarun long ago." Artom declared. "We will release the plague onto the surface to wipe out any other of these creature's kind and insure that our people are never again tempted to leave the holy land."

"You aren't the only species here. If you release the flood you will doom hundreds of innocent species." Ahce growled in outrage as she struggled to keep the griffin from ripping her throat out.

"Then they have no right to life. The strong survive and the weak die." Artom replied. "If they are meant to live then the gods will protect them."

"That is enough Artom, stop this foolishness." Rezarun shouted as he entered the great alter. He had heard enough and could stand it no more. "Your blindness will drive our people to ruin and the ruin of our whole planet. What you speak of is pure insanity. If you release the plague it will destroy our kind the same as the others."

"Not if we have faith. If we have faith then the gods will protect us." Artom declared. He tossed Ahce aside and walked toward Rezarun. "You though, you will be left for dead. You have forsaken our gods and will pay for it."

Ahce couldn't believe what she was hearing. Artom sounded like one of the prophets that had almost lead her people to their own destruction and the death of all sentient live in the universe. "The public will see through your lies. I still have those that believe in me and my view. This kind of action will rip our people in half." Rezarun argued.

"Then those who do not truly believe will be reveled and destroyed by the plague." Artom replied. "This world will be cleansed."

"No it will be infected." Ache spoke up. "When the flood is released none will be spared. All will fall, no god will save you." She said. "As a warrior of honor and pride I can not allow this."

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Artom asked smugly.

Ahce glared at the griffin. "I will have to kill you." She declared, activating her energy sword. She raised the energy blade pointing it at Artom. "By the blood of my ancestors I will not allow you to damn your people to the destruction that my people once faced. You must be stopped and it shall be my blade that does so." Ahce vowed.

Artom laughed at her. "I would like to see you try." He challenged.

Xece looked over at the spirits. "Do you still follow him?" He replied motioning to the sub commander.

The griffin turned to him. "Yes, I am forever loyal to him. He is my leader." He replied.

Xece slammed his fist into the griffin's head. "Then in loyalty to make leader you are my enemy." With that the holy spirits pounced forward at the soldiers just as Ahce charged at Artom.

In the other room Saco and Kada looked at the door that Rezarun had gone though. "Should we get him?" Kada asked.

Saco turned to John. "You're the ranking soldier. What are your orders?" She asked.

"Orders, who need orders? One of my soldiers is in danger. I'm going to help him." Amanda said.

Like a blur Omis ran past her wielding her grav hammer. "For honor!" She shouted as she ran.

Amanda ran off after her, shotgun raised and ready to fire. "For gory!" She cried.

Kada shrugged and ran following the others. "For pony!" She shouted as she ran. John grabbed Cortana from the computer before he joined Saco and Ben in running after the others.

~End chapter 27~

A/N: There is chapter 27. Please read and review.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: I don't own anything from Halo.

Chapter 28

The door slid open and the soldiers raced though it. Omis, who was in the lead, swung her grav hammer at the first thing she saw. The weapon slammed into the control panel and after a second the glowing panel disappeared plunging the great alter into darkness.

"What have you done?" Rezarun shouted trying to get away from the motion near him. He was sure it was Artom and Ahce firing and he didn't want to get between them.

A light flashed on behind her and Kada stepped forward. "Let me fix it."

In the darkness of the hall and energy sword flared to life. It slashed up though flesh, feathers, and fur. The holy spirits were scrambling in the dark to find their pray. As soon as a hand grabbed him Xece struck out with his sword until he had hit the foe enough to kill it. A hand grabbed his shoulder but before he could turn around the griffin's other hand came down leaving slashes down the back of his armor. A foot slammed into his back causing him to hit the wall. He spun around to face the griffin. A flashlight snapped on reveling the enemy before him. The Holy Spirit reached toward Xece but the elite grabbed his wrist holding the claws at bay. He tried to keep the griffin away from him but the foe was quickly over coming him. Xece knew he wouldn't be able to keep the knife like claws away for longer. He kicked out connecting his foot with the griffin's stomach. It was pushed back out of the light and out of sight. Xece was suddenly plunged into darkness once more as something moved in the way of the light. The elite deactivated his energy sword, right now it would only give away his position. He fell silent waiting for anything to give away the position of his enemy.

There was an odd sound to his left and Xece turned to it. He had just started to move toward it when claws ripped through his right shoulder. He roared in pain before the second hand slammed into the side of his head pinning him against the wall. Xece struggled but could not shake the griffin's grip. He moved his arm placing his right fist against the griffin's chest and activating his weapon. The blade flashed to life stabbing though the griffin. Xece shifted ignoring the protest of his shoulder. The griffin fell to the ground. He moved forward past the corpse.

Xece was hit from behind by something slamming his head against the wall. "Coward." He accused as he gripped his head waiting for the world to stop spinning. The griffin grabbed the back of his helmet. The creature suddenly stopped looking over its shoulder.

"Feathers, yes." Omis said delighted before swinging her hammer. The force impacted the griffin's side sending it flying in a dead lump of feathers and fur. The hammer happy elite flicked on her flashlight. She looked down at the other elite. "Oh, hello there Xece." She said pleasantly.

Xece pushed himself up using the wall. "Ahce?" He asked as he steadied himself on his feet.

Omis understood the meaning of his one word question. "I don't know where she is. Probably still fighting that other griffin." She answered. Xece nodded and then moved forward into the darkness.

Max was not about to fight in the dark. He had terrible night vision and he didn't know how to work the night vision on his armor. He snapped on his flashlight illuminating both Xece and the griffin he was fighting. He watched them struggle before a griffin stepped in front of him. He panicked for a moment not sure what to do. He then struck out slapping the griffin. It was successful in stunning the enemy, mainly because the griffin had never been slapped before. Max then removed his sniper rifle from his back connecting the butt of the gun with the griffin's chin.

The griffin stumbled back a few steps stopping. It tried to turn but there was no escape. The force of the point blank shotgun blast ripped through the creature, killing it. Amanda stood, shotgun still at the ready. "Good to see you again Sarge." Max said relieved.

"Is that all of them?" Amanda asked looking around in small lit area.

"All of the spirits, yes.' Omis answered. "Kada is trying to fix the lights. Ben is assisting, and Chief and Saco are guarding them."

"What about Xece?" Max asked as he wiped the blood from his visor so that he could see.

"He went to find Ahce." I don't hear them so she and that griffin must have stopped fighting." Omis replied.

"Let's get back to the others." Amanda said before Omis lead them back to the others.

Ahce cursed her luck. She was sure the griffins had better eye sight in the dark then her. She didn't even have the help of her blades as the black energy failed to illuminate anything. Now she was only trying to keep her foe from cutting her to pieces. She slashed into the darkness wherever she caught any hint of motion. She would have to come up with some kind of strategy if she was to keep her vow. Ahce stopped dead in her tracks standing perfectly still. She would just have to wait for him to come to her. She didn't have long to wait until she felt the sting of Artom's claws slashing though her side. She reached out and grabbed the griffin's wrist. IN retaliation Artom grabbed Ahce's sword wrist keeping her from stabbing him.

"Give up vile creature." Artom demanded as he struggled to get the upper hand. They moved back and forward in a dance of power through the darkness in an effort to out do the other.

"Never, you are delusional and must be stopped." Ahce replied in a low growl. She twisted to the left causing her to loose her grip on his wrist and dislodged him from her own wrist. She lost him in the darkness once more. "Come fight me." She challenged no longer caring if she acted foolish, as long as he died. She roared in pain as claws tore down the exposed part of her back. The elite spun slamming her elbow into the griffin's stomach. He took a step back then ducked as Ahce swung her left fist around trying to hit the griffin. Ahce retreated back as she felt Artom strike her stomach cutting light gashes into the flesh.

Artom was no longer trying for stealth. As far as he was concerned he was just playing with a pray that had already lost. He jumped forward slashing out at the elite. Ahce heard him coming and was ready for him. She swung her blade at the leaping griffin in one last attempt. Blood spilled to the ground as flesh ripped open. Artom fell to the ground dead as blood poured from the large cut on his chest. Ahce stood over him stunned letting the energy blade fall from her hand. She reached up quickly to cover the large cuts along the right side of her neck. She felt the warm liquid seeping though her fingers as she tried to stop the bleeding.

"Ahce." Xece said close by. He nearly tripped over the griffin's corpse as he made his way to the other elite.

"Xece." Ahce said taking a step toward him. She fell forward and was caught by the male elite. "You must get them out of here. Keep them safe." She ordered. "You'll be in charge. I know you'll do fine. I taught you well." She assured him as her eyes slowly closed. Ahce slipped away silently leaving Xece holding the limp body.

The lights kicked back on bringing light back to the great alter. "Knew I could do it." Kada said pleased as she stood up. She fell silent as she spotted the male elite and their fallen leader. Everything fell dead silent for a moment as they took in the sight.

"We mustn't stay here longer." Rezarun spoke up. "There will be time to morn later. Now you must leave." He instructed.

"And leave you to pay for our actions?" Amanda asked frowning and turning toward the griffin.

"I will say that I convinced you to leave peacefully. That because of Artom that you were going to destroy our kind for the death of one of your and for his foolishness but I convinced you to spare us. You all will be treated as holy soldiers who came to rid us of the mistaken views. Remembered, thanked, and sacred." Rezarun replied. "Your kind must leave. In years to come they may come back, and I hope you are with them, and be welcomed as friends."

Xece lay Ahce's body down and turned to the others. "We go." He said bluntly.

"You can't honestly be saying that we leave her behind." Saco said surprised and slightly outraged.

"Yes." He replied looking to Rezarun. "Take care. Be kind." He said glancing back at Ahce.

"I will see that she is buried with our heroes." Rezarun assured him. "Take that hallway to the elevator. It will take you to the surface."

Xecen nodded and without a word moved off. The others followed behind him swiftly and silently down the hallway to the elevator. They boarded the elevator and rode it up to the surface. They came up to the sight of a team of pure black griffins waiting for them. "Your ships are waiting for you in a clearing there." One of the griffins said pointing to the forest. Xece nodded leading the team out into the forest.

They found the clearing and two phantoms waiting. "Took you long enough." Ckje complained turning to his own team. "Get on board and let's get off this dirt ball." He ordered. The multicolored elites boarded one of the ships while the others boarded the second ship. They remained silent as they all took seats in the ship.

After a moment Max spoke up. "So what now?' He asked looking around at the sulking figures around him.

"Whatever we're ordered." Amanda replied leaning back against the seat. "Well sleep first, then whatever we are ordered." She corrected.

~End~

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this fic. I'm thinking of writing an epilogue and a companion piece to this that tells a bit more about the elites of the team and the humans.


End file.
